Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James at the 5 may finally happen

With an interesting blend of centers on the roster, this may be the year LeBron James is unleashed as a small-ball 5 for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The small-ball era of pace-and-space has ticked up a notch in recent seasons, with teams opting to deploy as many switchable wings to increase defensive effectiveness and open up driving lanes on offense. We have seen the best player in the world upsize to the 4 over the last seven or eight seasons, but we may finally see him unleashed as a small-ball 5 in his new threads.

LeBron James is a physical marvel at 6’8” and 250 pounds. He fits the bill as a modern 5, especially considering how strong he is to handle most of the big men he’d battle with in the paint defensively while forcing opposing teams to downsize themselves or have a mismatch available that comes with playing LeBron and four shooters or wings.

Despite this making a great deal of sense to maximize lineup production, LeBron didn’t log a single minute at the 5 last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, per Cleaning the Glass. The Cavs made the NBA Finals nonetheless, but their lack of wing talent limited how many lineups they could use to get the most out of LeBron James, which is saying something with his production this year.

Now that he has officially signed his four-year, $153.3 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and the team has seemingly completed its roster around James, we can start projecting what lineups will be compiled by head coach Luke Walton. With a small amount of centers and forwards at Walton’s disposal, LeBron at the 5 makes a lot of sense for the Lakers.

The centers the Lakers currently have are free agent signing JaVale McGee and third-year big Ivica Zubac. McGee is a journeyman that developed into an important rotational player for the Golden State Warriors, claiming two titles in his two seasons in the Bay Area. Zubac is still only 21 years old with a nice offensive game, but isn’t the ideal big to play next to LeBron at this juncture of his career.

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Outside of those two, rookie Moritz Wagner expects to log some time at the 5 and has the requisite size and skill to thrive as a big that will space the floor, but he’s listed as a power forward and needs a lot of work on the defensive end in terms of rim protection and staying on wings or guards despite showing great effort every time he’s on the floor.

Looking at the rest of this roster, you’ll see plenty of wings and guards that need to be used in creative ways to share the court together. The main rotation players outside of LeBron and McGee are Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Josh Hart and Lance Stephenson with Wagner and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk slowly making their way into the lineup as they grow in comfort with the NBA.

There are only two or three natural forwards on that list and none of them have experience at the 5. Stephenson, Ingram and Kuzma are all best harassing opponents on the perimeter, and the same can be said for the litany of large guards the Lakers have on the team. This opens the door for Walton to use LeBron at the 5.

(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

At this stage of his career, LeBron is best used playing centerfield on defense and reading opponents while hovering in the paint. With this much defensive wing talent around him, he will be in a position to do just that in Los Angeles. He’s more of a chase-down shot-blocking artist than natural rim protector, but he offers too much upside in terms of making the Lakers an army of switchable, above-average defenders all over 6’6”.

For all the talk of the Lakers lacking shooting around LeBron, playing him at the 5 would surround him with plenty of shooting to open up driving lanes, while having four other players that can make plays off the dribble. LeBron is transitioning to a post game as his career moves on, so the Lakers could literally play any type of offense with him at the 5.

The tempo will always be quick, but slowing it down they have pick-and-roll options with multiple players that can successfully run one, a legit post-up player when the shots aren’t falling in LeBron, and at least three others that can get to the rim and create for themselves. This offense would arguably be one of the most efficient and potent when LeBron is used at the 5.

This all comes down to LeBron’s willingness to make the move to the 5 and battle in the paint. The Lakers are a great rebounding team with eight players averaging at least 4.0 rebounds last season (five on the roster still), so the load will be lightened for LeBron. The new wave of bigs coming into the NBA shows the game may be changing once again, but none of their back-to-the-basket games worry me and LeBron is too strong to get pushed around by the rookie bigs.

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This move opens up the floor offensively and makes their defense versatile while allowing the Lakers to play their desired up-tempo style of basketball. We may finally see LeBron James fully unleashed in his 16th NBA season if he plays at the 5, something I expect them to use given their roster makeup.