Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka swung for the fences this offseason. He completely revamped and redefined the Lakers' rotation, bringing in the likes of Quentin Grimes, Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Collin Sexton to give franchise player Luka Doncic a team that projects to play a style that's more in line with his preferred approach.
Unfortunately, Pelinka has backed Lakers head coach JJ Redick into a corner by signing both Kessler and Mamukelashvili to four-year deals with eight-figure annual salaries without knowing if they can share the court.
On their own, Kessler and Mamukelashvili are fine players who should help Doncic on at least one end of the floor. Kessler is an elite offensive rebounder and shot blocker who should anchor the interior if he avoids the injury bug, while Mamukelashvili is a dynamic offensive big who can shoot and put the ball on the floor.
In a perfect world, Redick will be able to play Kessler and Mamukelashvili together and give the Lakers an ideal balance of interior control and spacing from the 4-spot.
Unfortunately, there are a number of signs that point to that duo being unable to coexist. That's a rather daunting possibility considering Kessler signed a four-year, $130 million contract and Mamukelashvili joined the Lakers on a four-year, $52 million deal.
Considering the Lakers have been struggling to move Jarred Vanderbilt and the last two seasons of his four-year, $48 million contract, they know as well as anyone how damaging a poor fit on a big deal can be.
Can the Lakers play Walker Kessler and Sandro Mamukelashvili together?
Mamukelashvili played 93 percent of his minutes at center this past season. That doesn't necessarily mean that he can't switch to the 4 in Los Angeles, but examples of his flexibility have been provided alongside unique defenders such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Scottie Barnes, and Victor Wembanyama.
For as dominant as Kessler has the potential to be as a rim protector, he isn't the same caliber of athlete as the aforementioned players and therefore may not cover the same type of ground.
That's an alarming truth to consider when one factors in how poorly Mamukelashvili performed in space in 2025-26. According to Basketball Index, he ranked in the 14th percentile in perimeter isolation defense and the 24th percentile in off-ball chaser defense.
Mamukelashvili is actually a solid pick and roll defender, which inspires faith that he can operate as a situational 5, but defending modern 4s in space could produce nightmare scenarios for the Lakers.
Lakers will pay Kessler and Mamukelashvili $45+ million per season
If Los Angeles faces a team with an athletic 4 who can create their own offense, Mamukelashvili will be tough to hide on defense. The Lakers would also be inviting teams to run out small-ball lineups that push the pace and compromise the purple and gold's defense through athleticism and spacing.
These potential issues are amplified by the fact that the starting lineup already has two players who struggle in isolation defense: Doncic and Austin Reaves.
With this in mind, the Lakers will pay Mamukelashvili an average of $13 million per season to be a poor fit for the starting five and a lackluster option to play next to Kessler at all. That's a brutal position for Redick to find himself in, particularly with Vanderbilt still consuming eight figures worth of cap space that may prevent Los Angeles from making the necessary changes to its roster.
Redick may find a creative solution to this potential issue, but the Lakers will need Mamukelashvili to make improvements he's thus far been unable to display if he's expected to play next to Kessler.
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