Los Angeles Lakers: Predicting starting lineup and rotation

No. 7: Josh Hart

While the Lakers will be bringing in offense off the bench with Kuzma, they’ll need to bring in some defense as well.

Enter Josh Hart.

The former Villanova guard was known for his tough perimeter defense in college and displayed that same grittiness in his rookie season. Selected by the Lakers with the 30th overall pick two years ago, if Kuzma is considered the steal of the 2017 NBA Draft, Hart is a close second.

Not to diminish his offensive abilities, Hart averaged 7.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game last season. He led the Lakers in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting at a 39.6 percent clip.

Hart is also coming off winning the Summer League MVP, averaging 22.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in Las Vegas.

If any starter is in danger of losing his job, it’s likely Caldwell-Pope, mainly because Hart has shown such immense improvement. KCP has the job as of now, but anything can happen in training camp or during the season.