We are over a month into the 2023-24 season and fans still haven't seen the Los Angeles Lakers at full strength. The team has been plagued by multiple injuries to key rotation players and has not been fully healthy (or close to it) once this season.
While this has had an impact on the team's win-loss record, it has also given the Lakers a peak into certain players who may not have gotten this much playing time early on. This could be beneficial in the long run as it will tell Darvin Ham and the team who deserves to stick around, and who might be expendable before the trade deadline.
And unfortunately for some, this early stretch of the season has made them expendable.
3 Lakers who won't last the entire season in LA after early struggles:
Taurean Prince
Taurean Prince has arguably been the worst consistent member of the rotation for the purple and gold thus far this season. Prince has played a big role on the team as well as he has started all 16 games for the Lake Show while the team deals with various injuries to other forwards.
Prince looked like he was going to be the bargain signing of the offseason as the Lakers landed him on a Bi-Annual Exception but now he looks like someone who might not last the entire season. Prince, who was outright cut by the Minnesota Timberwolves, may see a similar fate with the Lakers this year.
Prince simply has not been as advertised thus far this season. His defense has been serviceable enough but when Jarred Vanderbilt returns that is not really needed. To justify his place, Prince needs to add offensive value and he has not done much of that this season.
Prince is shooting 29.6% from three while attempting the third-most threes per game on the team. As far as advanced stats go, Prince has a -4.7 Box Plus/Minus, which is among the worst on the team. Fans don't need advanced stats to see this, though, as it is clear that Prince doesn't have a spot on this team long-term.