The Los Angeles Lakers need a starting power forward and have to decide if Sandro Mamukelashvili will fill that role or be the sixth man. Mamu has started just 28 of his 271 NBA games, and he’s never averaged more than 21.9 minutes per contest. The Lakers signed him to a four-year, $52 million contract this summer. They clearly value him, but his previous teams haven’t trusted him to start or primarily play the four.
The 6’9 big man can stretch the floor and make plays, but he has played 76 percent of his career minutes at the five. The Raptors used him as a center for 93 percent of his minutes last season. He creates matchup issues in the second unit, especially when he’s at the five. The Lakers need a backup big man, but their biggest hole is a starting power forward.
Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler are locked into the starting five. Quentin Grimes figures to be the fourth starter with an open competition between Jake LaRavia, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Mamu if they don’t make another move. The Lakers would love to acquire this piece, but it will cost them draft capital. Rob Pelinka is willing to pay, but the player would have to find someone who fits on their books.
The Lakers have to decide if Sandro Mamukelashvili is a starter
Mamu is LA’s fifth-highest paid player. Vando and Collin Sexton are the only two behind him making more than $6 million in the 2026-27 season. The Lakers want to move on from Vanderbilt and signed Sexton to be their first guard off the bench. They would be too small starting Doncic, Reaves, Sexton, and Grimes.
LaRavia fell out of the playoff rotation, and the Lakers gave Thybulle and Williams minimum contracts when they had cap space. None of those are the answer. This is a massive hole that Mamu may be thrust into filling.
Mamukelashvili feasted on reserves last season. The Raptors have a plus-2.5 net rating with him on the floor in a breakout season. It earned him a four-year contract from the Lakers, but he was playing the five and taking advantage of lesser matchups.
Will that continue if he is playing a much larger role and primarily seeing time at power forward? That is what the Lakers have to decide. They want Jonathan Kuminga to be their starter, but he isn’t accepting the money LA is offering. Mamu is the best current option and may need to fill the role.
This could be disastrous. Having Mamu on the perimeter next to two below-average defenders is a problem. The Lakers would also lose some of the big man’s break-starting and playmaking abilities with Luka and AR dominating the ball. The ideal role is for him to be a combo big man off the bench, but the purple and gold need more.
The Los Angeles Lakers already have a difficult decision to make regarding Sandro Mamukelashvili. They paid him like a starter, but have seen him thrive in a reserve role. LA needs a starting power forward. Right now, Mamu is the best option. Fans will have to stay tuned to see if the Lakers can acquire an upgrade or decide to use him in a role no other team has in his NBA career.
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