The Los Angeles Lakers saw all the concern and hate mail regarding their wing depth. They gave the people what they wanted on Monday by taking a shot on a low-risk, high-reward move with the addition of Ziaire Williams. The two sides agreed on a one-year, $3 million deal.
Adding Williams offers the Lakers an alternative to just hoping their youth would step up and fill those spots. There is now far less pressure on Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr to immediately be impact players from the start of training camp. Even so, their new depth chart leaves something to be desired.
PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Luka Doncic | Austin Reaves | Quentin Grimes | Sandro Mamukelashvili | Walker Kessler |
Collin Sexton | Jaden Hardy | Ziaire Williams | Adou Thiero | Kevon Looney |
Bronny James | Cameron Carr | Jake LaRavia | Jarred Vanderbilt | |
Dalton Knecht |
This current version of the 15-man roster in Los Angeles still lacks that bow on top. Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili both remain in the starting lineup with this squad, and at least one of them should be dropping to the bench unit. Ideally, Mamu would be the one who slides down, offering more optionality up front.
That means the Lakers should still be in heavy pursuit of someone who can fill a starting forward spot in Los Angeles. Unsurprisingly, Rob Pelinka and company have been connected to such a move for quite some time.
Lakers need a new starting forward before their offseason is complete
There are two names who immediately come to mind when discussing how the Lakers can fill that final major void on the roster. One of them, to the surprise of no one who has been paying active attention, would be Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga and the Lakers have been that will-they-won't-they couple out of a sitcom in this year's free agency period. A sign-and-trade would be the most logical path for both sides to get what they want out of this union.
Alternatively, the Lakers could flirt with the idea of bringing in an old Luka Doncic teammate like P.J. Washington. Their interest in Washington was reported as overstated, but that could just be a smokescreen to get his price down in trade negotiations.
With either option, the depth chart in Los Angeles would immediately look much cleaner. Let us assume an outgoing package of Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and some level of draft capital is getting the deal done here.
PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Luka Dončić | Austin Reaves | Quentin Grimes | Jonathan Kuminga/P.J. Washington | Walker Kessler |
Collin Sexton | Jaden Hardy | Ziaire Williams | Sandro Mamukelashvili | Kevon Looney |
Bronny James | Cameron Carr | Jake LaRavia | Adou Thiero |
This adjustment gives JJ Redick versatility on a nightly basis in how to deploy the frontcourt with Mamukelashvili becoming a member of the second unit. It also opens up a roster spot for the Lakers to seek out an extra body at center as injury insurance.
There would be some real depth with the group above. There is more than enough of it there that Los Angeles can confidently head toward next season feeling good about their offseason makeover.
Add us as a preferred source on Google