The Los Angeles Lakers finally made another addition to the roster this week by signing polarizing big man Christian Wood. It was long rumored that the Lake Show was looking for a floor-spacing big and that is exactly what the team added in Wood.
Los Angeles’ roster is now up to 14 players and there are only so many minutes that can be handed out throughout the season. Someone has to start, someone has to be the primary player off the bench and someone is going to end up getting their role with the team cut.
There has been a lot of conversation about how Wood’s signing impacts the rotation, and how it will impact the likes of Jaxson Hayes and Jarred Vanderbilt. Hayes was the team’s only true center option before Wood while Vanderbilt is a small-ball five who already saw this playoff role get reduced last season.
It is going to be a tough equation for Darvin Ham to solve and he should continue to try new and unique lineups. However, at the end of the day, he will likely come to a certain conclusion.
Start, bench, cut: Lakers big men after signing Christian Wood
Start: Christian Wood
This might come out of left field, especially if you are familiar with our work at Lake Show Life and the fact that we are not huge fans of Wood as it is. Wood is not a traditional center and does not play much defense, so it seems unlikely that he would start next to Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
That being said, there was already speculation earlier this offseason that the Lake Show was looking at implementing a starting lineup with two bigs. This would accomplish that and feels like the most likely direction for the team to go.
Are there some inefficiencies with going in this direction? Sure. Is there a chance that Wood’s playoff minutes get cut drastically in the playoffs? Yes. But for the time being, this will keep Wood happy, give the starting lineup some extra offensive juice, and allow Ham to play around with Davis and Wood together.
He does not have to play 30 minutes a night, but it seems likely with what the Lakers want to accomplish, Wood will be the starting guy.