Lakers Promised Anthony Davis He'd Play Fewer Minutes At Center In Regular Season

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Los Angeles Lakers made it clear to Anthony Davis this offseason that they would add depth at center so he wouldn't have to the play the position with as much regularity this offseason, sources tell ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

Davis played 99 percent of his minutes at center last season.

With the Lakers adding Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood, there are more lineup possibilities to allow Davis to play power forward.

Davis signed a three-year, $186 million extension with the Lakers this offseason.

Via Dave McMenamin/ESPN

[Pickled Prunes]

Well then... they had better get a center.

[Montrosslegend]

Well then... they had better get a center.

Agreed. Wood may be 6'10 but probably 6'9. He's got a slight build and in no way is he a center in the NBA. If he's smaller than Davis, why would he be guarding centers?

They're going to have to get another center. Too bad Mcgee signed with Kings. They should get Dwight Howard back.

[tigerae]

Well then... they had better get a center.

Agreed. Wood may be 6'10 but probably 6'9. He's got a slight build and in no way is he a center in the NBA. If he's smaller than Davis, why would he be guarding centers?

They're going to have to get another center. Too bad Mcgee signed with Kings. They should get Dwight Howard back.

I really don't understand their thinking here. Woods is a good insurance policy for if AD goes down or if they want to small ball but he is no way a center. Then again, neither is AD. I've been saying that since they let Howard go. Should have gotten Howard or McGee as soon as they were available. They stand no chance with Denver without a true center to body Jokic.

[madmaxmedia]

Well then... they had better get a center.

Just tell him that in today's NBA, they can run center less lineups 50% of the time and he's the power forward. Problem solved.

[Pickled Prunes]

Well then... they had better get a center.

Agreed. Wood may be 6'10 but probably 6'9. He's got a slight build and in no way is he a center in the NBA. If he's smaller than Davis, why would he be guarding centers?

They're going to have to get another center. Too bad Mcgee signed with Kings. They should get Dwight Howard back.

I really don't understand their thinking here. Woods is a good insurance policy for if AD goes down or if they want to small ball but he is no way a center. Then again, neither is AD. I've been saying that since they let Howard go. Should have gotten Howard or MeGee already. They stand no chance with Denver without a true center to body Jokic.

Well, I think the reporting on this is bad. I don't think this is what the LAL's are thinking at all. I'm sure they know they are better with AD at the 5. And yes, he is a center. Your position is determined by who you guard. At 6-10, 250+ lbs. AD will be guarding centers. On offense it doesn't matter; you run what you run.

The staring line up should probably be AD/Lebron/Vanderbilt/Russell/Reaves. This would have AD at center and Lebron at PF... If they want to call Vanderbilt a center to make Lebron and AD happy, they can, but that's just lip service. Rui may get some starts ahead of Vanderbilt but Wood and Hayes shouldn't start when AD and Lebron are suiting up. AD has 35 lbs on any of these guys... so he'll be guarding most centers regardless of what they list him as.

[Pickled Prunes]

Well then... they had better get a center.

Just tell him that in today's NBA, they can run center less lineups 50% of the time and he's the power forward. Problem solved.

Position-less basketball... This is the way!

[alienpick]

Were they factoring in his "injury" vacation time in those calculations?

[tigerae]

Agreed. Wood may be 6'10 but probably 6'9. He's got a slight build and in no way is he a center in the NBA. If he's smaller than Davis, why would he be guarding centers?

They're going to have to get another center. Too bad Mcgee signed with Kings. They should get Dwight Howard back.

I really don't understand their thinking here. Woods is a good insurance policy for if AD goes down or if they want to small ball but he is no way a center. Then again, neither is AD. I've been saying that since they let Howard go. Should have gotten Howard or MeGee already. They stand no chance with Denver without a true center to body Jokic.

Well, I think the reporting on this is bad. I don't think this is what the LAL's are thinking at all. I'm sure they know they are better with AD at the 5. And yes, he is a center. Your position is determined by who you guard. At 6-10, 250+ lbs. AD will be guarding centers. On offense it doesn't matter; you run what you run.

The staring line up should probably be AD/Lebron/Vanderbilt/Russell/Reaves. This would have AD at center and Lebron at PF... If they want to call Vanderbilt a center to make Lebron and AD happy, they can, but that's just lip service. Rui may get some starts ahead of Vanderbilt but Wood and Hayes shouldn't start when AD and Lebron are suiting up. AD has 35 lbs on any of these guys... so he'll be guarding most centers regardless of what they list him as.

He can indeed guard most of today's centers, but he has shown extreme inability to play 2 way basketball consistently when playing against Jokic. Even against Memphis he struggled to play good every other game. I think his body just doesn't allow him to do it.

If you have him at the 4 instead of having to guard Jokic and Jackson (Embiid, Wemby, Adebayo, Kat, etc.) then he can be the help defender. If he has to play them in a 7 game series then it takes a big toll on his body and it showed in the playoffs. He just can't do it. Even in New Orleans, the team was the best version when they had Cousins at the 5. Just like he was the best version when they had Dwight and McGee on the Lakers in 2020.

No matter what the Lakers and the world of basketball want him to do, if you actually look at his game, he cannot do it every single game in a playoff series and be successful. They can go ahead and play that way, and will likely end up playing that way, but in the end unless the other teams have injuries or are taken out prior to taking on the Lakers, he will likely have one great game offensively and one off game.

Against Memphis he had 22,13, 31,12, 31 and finally 16 points.

Against Denver he had 40, 18, 28 and 22. So basically solid games every other game.

[mastermixer]

The article is correct.

Although our best line up is with AD at the 5 and that’s his best natural position, he can’t sustain guarding centers for an 82 game season.

We have to have our bigs play out of position at the 5 to keep AD at the 4 for the majority of the regular season to at least attempt to preserve ADs body for the playoffs.

[Loneshot]

This is one thing that has been very annoying about the Lakers. Davis has had no desire to play the 5 from day one, yet the Lakers have pushed him there consistently and he openly hates it.

The thing is, he's not that amazing of an outside threat that he should constantly be out there. I prefer him at center, but he hates it and you can tell.

[SparksAC]

Embiid trade incoming.

[niha17]

an injured 7fter now wants to be the starting PG watch out league

[briankelly68]

The article is correct.

Although our best line up is with AD at the 5 and that’s his best natural position, he can’t sustain guarding centers for an 82 game season.

We have to have our bigs play out of position at the 5 to keep AD at the 4 for the majority of the regular season to at least attempt to preserve ADs body for the playoffs.

?82 game season at any position for AD is gonna be tough

[cheese318]

Agreed. Wood may be 6'10 but probably 6'9. He's got a slight build and in no way is he a center in the NBA. If he's smaller than Davis, why would he be guarding centers?

They're going to have to get another center. Too bad Mcgee signed with Kings. They should get Dwight Howard back.

I really don't understand their thinking here. Woods is a good insurance policy for if AD goes down or if they want to small ball but he is no way a center. Then again, neither is AD. I've been saying that since they let Howard go. Should have gotten Howard or MeGee already. They stand no chance with Denver without a true center to body Jokic.

Well, I think the reporting on this is bad. I don't think this is what the LAL's are thinking at all. I'm sure they know they are better with AD at the 5. And yes, he is a center. Your position is determined by who you guard. At 6-10, 250+ lbs. AD will be guarding centers. On offense it doesn't matter; you run what you run.

The staring line up should probably be AD/Lebron/Vanderbilt/Russell/Reaves. This would have AD at center and Lebron at PF... If they want to call Vanderbilt a center to make Lebron and AD happy, they can, but that's just lip service. Rui may get some starts ahead of Vanderbilt but Wood and Hayes shouldn't start when AD and Lebron are suiting up. AD has 35 lbs on any of these guys... so he'll be guarding most centers regardless of what they list him as.

Seems pretty spot on to me. If he doesn’t want to play Center for that much grind through out the regular season and that’s what he brought up before signing his contract extension it wouldn’t surprise me. Does it align with the roster matchups not really but we will see how it plays out because he can’t play PF with Rui on the court and making LBJ guard SF’s at 39 is just not the longterm answer for a full season

[napdash]

Embiid trade incoming.

Nah, they need Lisa Leslie's D

[engelmartin]

Is this because he's too much of a wimp to bang downlow? I guess he's super injury prone so that makes sense.

[JN61]

Had there ever been a softer player than Day to Davis. I'm guessing he went in front of the front office sobbing how he was bullied last year on the court...

[Johnny Bball]

This guy has spent his entire career trying to avoid physicality and playing the position he is best suited to play by far.