With Walker Kessler making his preseason debut on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors, JJ Redick got to have some fun with the frontcourt. The Los Angeles Lakers head coach finally got to deploy some double big lineups. The results? Mostly positive, but with an exception to that.
Seeing Kessler paired up with Sandro Mamukelashvili looked good. No doubt, this is something the Lakers are going to turn to during the regular season with its fair share of regularity when the matchup allows for it. Mamu and Kevon Looney featured a slightly different story.
It should come as a shock to absolutely no one, but Looney is not Kessler. Walker was excellent in his preseason debut, providing strong impact on both ends. Looney was much slower and the Lakers just did not replicate the same type of success with him and Mamu as the double big combo.
To some degree, that is a big, fat duh. Looney is a backup and Kessler is someone poised for a breakout. The idea here is not to directly compare Loon to his starting counterpart. The point is, depending on how often Redick intends to go double dig, the Lakers could still benefit from an on-court upgrade to the aging center.
Lakers' double big lineups need more than Kevon Looney can provide
Even in a short dose during the first half, Looney was one of the shakiest parts of the Lakers rotation during the more meaningful stretches of this basketball game. No one really looked good during the second half so the veteran big man can get a pass on that one.
With the Lakers' wing depth coming in better than what was advertised during the offseason, the more immediate focus of what area the team needs to upgrade has firmly shifted to that backup center spot. There are worse options out there than Looney. Even so, that does not dismiss how much a new body in the frontcourt could help.
Making that upgrade at this stage is easier said than done.
There will be a handful of names set to hit the open market once the entire league trims their rosters down to the permittable limits for NBA Opening Night. Most, if not all, of them are underwhelming when it comes to the center position.
A consolidation trade before that time comes is the Lakers' best hope right now. However, it is also tough to see where one could materialize for Rob Pelinka.
This could be something that drags until December, January, or even the trade deadline. Even so, if Redick does intend to make double big lineups a regular part of their rotation, upgrading the backup center spot should remain a priority between now and then.
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