The Los Angeles Lakers have completely revamped their roster by adding LeBron James and multiple seasoned veterans. A few questions still remain including who will be seeing the most minutes at the center position? The answer might surprise you.
In a league dominated by speedy guards, high-flying wings and run-and-gun style offenses, LeBron James remains the lone, dominant remnant of the old school.
Pound the ball and overpower your opponent.
While James is certainly capable of excelling on the fast break, where he was seventh in the league in transition points last season at 4.2 per game, his real strength is his physically dominating style of play.
With Julius Randle and Brook Lopez gone, the Los Angeles Lakers answered their question at center by drafting Moritz Wagner and signing JaVale McGee. While both players will see time in the middle, James is stronger and a better rebounder than the seven-footers, and it’s not even close.
It’s very probable that McGee will get the starting nod most nights, but he could be the first player subbed out for sixth man Kyle Kuzma. That would shift James to the center spot, with Kuzma and Brandon Ingram as the forwards, presumably.
A potential lineup of Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Ingram, Kuzma and James could be utilized frequently early in games, and to close out fourth quarters as well.
FOX Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb floated the idea of LeBron playing center while hosting The Herd last week.
Lebron is going to be the #Lakers small ball 5. That is the plan. Look at their roster... pretty smart plan for Lebron 4.0 #Lakers
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) July 9, 2018
As Gottlieb points out, the roster seems to be heading in the direction of James spending most of his minutes at center. This has to have been part of the meeting with Lakers brass, as it’s been reported that James was consulted on the construction of the roster.
As a matter of fact, Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said that the team was interested in bringing back Lance Stephenson, but a call from James convinced Stephenson to sign in Los Angeles.
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James has already demonstrated he can operate in the post effectively, and was third in the league in points in the paint last season, averaging 14.4 per game.
Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant leaned on their post games more so in the latter stages of their careers. No. 23 could follow suit.
If he does see a lot of minutes as a small ball-5, James will go up against a heavy dose of traditional centers in the Western Conference.
Nikola Jokic in Denver, Rudy Gobert in Utah and Steven Adams in Oklahoma City are just a few of the starting big men in the west. Additionally, the first two picks of the draft, Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III, are also in the West.
On nights when facing teams with true centers, the Lakers will have to rely more on McGee, Wagner and Ivica Zubac. James will still likely log a few minutes at the 5-spot in most games. If he’s lost a step entering his 16th season, he could still take advantage of the bigger centers with his quickness.
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It will be interesting to see the different lineups Luke Walton uses early on in the season. The most intriguing of those potential squads, though, features LeBron James as the Los Angeles Lakers’ center in a small-ball lineup.