Los Angeles Lakers: 3 big questions heading into 2019-20

2. What’s the ideal lineup?

The best five players constitute the best lineup, right? Not quite.

DeMarcus Cousins was an offensive force before the Achilles injury and he showed some good signs in the Finals last year. But he’s still a poor defender, and will only get worse on that end as he ages.

He should not play significant minutes next to Anthony Davis and/or LeBron James, despite the nominal allure.

In addition, Boogie must share the floor with defensive-minded players. They were mentioned on the last slide, but it bears repeating that Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope fit this bill.

Though Kyle Kuzma is a solid shooter, how does he fit with the Big Two? Neither he or James should be guarding wings full-time, and Davis belongs at the 5 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ best lineup.

Ideally he’s a stretch-4 next to Davis or JaVale McGee, as they can cover for him defensively and he can stretch the floor for them to roll.

The players who will give Frank Vogel the fewest headaches around James and Davis are some combination of: KCP, Green, Jared Dudley and Avery Bradley. They all know their roles, shoot capably and defend the perimeter (extremely well in Green’s case).

A quintet of James, Bradley, KCP, Green and Davis will not be used often during the regular season grind, but Death Lineups seldom are. In the meantime, look for the Lakers to run a lot of traditional lineups to appease Davis’ phobia.

General manager Rob Pelinka and his associates added the right pieces. Now it’s Vogel’s job to put out the best permutations.