Lakers...Deepest Team in the League Now?

[lazybatman]

Yes easily, typical Lebron and his bought teams. If he stayed long enough to win the organic way he would get a lot more respect from the league fan base.

Do you still work in the first job you got after school?

[Benedict_Boozer]

So, now that the team is largely filled out, let's take another look. Here is their 2-deep roster

Gasol/Harrell
Davis/Morris
LeBron/Kuzma
Caldwell-Pope/Matthews
Schroder/Caruso

What do you think?

This is a really balanced team - what's crazy is it somehow is alot younger which seemed impossible given the Lakers lack of trade assets and cap space.

I think the only holes are:
1. I think the team needs another athletic/rim protecting big
2. A wing defender with some size/athleticism, Matthews is a tad small for the larger elite wings and Morris is a tad slow footed; remember last year guys like Tatum and Butler lighting them up
3. A 3rd backup PG in case Caruso or Schroder gets hurt, not as important with Lebron but would be good insurance

That will be hard to get with vet min contracts or buyouts but not impossible. If they shored up those holes the only thing beating that team is health or LBJ's decline.

[ClubLakers KB8]

Yes easily, typical Lebron and his bought teams. If he stayed long enough to win the organic way he would get a lot more respect from the league fan base.

Do you still work in the first job you got after school?

This.

[JordansBulls]

Yes easily, typical Lebron and his bought teams. If he stayed long enough to win the organic way he would get a lot more respect from the league fan base.

Do you still work in the first job you got after school?

Doesn't apply as you are getting significant raises.

[nzahir]

So, now that the team is largely filled out, let's take another look. Here is their 2-deep roster

Gasol/Harrell
Davis/Morris
LeBron/Kuzma
Caldwell-Pope/Matthews
Schroder/Caruso

What do you think?

This is a really balanced team - what's crazy is it somehow is alot younger which seemed impossible given the Lakers lack of trade assets and cap space.

I think the only holes are:
1. I think the team needs another athletic/rim protecting big
2. A wing defender with some size/athleticism, Matthews is a tad small for the larger elite wings and Morris is a tad slow footed; remember last year guys like Tatum and Butler lighting them up
3. A 3rd backup PG in case Caruso or Schroder gets hurt, not as important with Lebron but would be good insurance

That will be hard to get with vet min contracts or buyouts but not impossible. If they shored up those holes the only thing beating that team is health or LBJ's decline.

1. I wouldn't mind another C, but not many left for the min. Mahimi? Tyson? Henson?
2. Batum? RHJ for depth? Ariza if cut/waived?
3. Not many true backup point guards left, but we do need one. Not sure who though. Lin?

[hoopsinthesky]

deeeeeeeep.

sad to see rondo go tho. such an intellectual. There was this moment when they won one of the playoff games, I believe against the nuggets, on ADs buzzer beater, and rondo looked so pissed. wasn't excited about the last second shot -- like he knew it shouldn’t have come down to that. He didn't just want to win, he wants to win in a certain way. he has such a love for the game and the flow.

I get why he went to the hawks... great way to make money and retire, but also think he’s intellectually excited by getting to shape Trae and that team. like it’s a different type of challenge. I couldn't imagine him going somewhere that his mind wouldn't be working in interesting ways. I think its why he didn't go the clips route... obv the clear money thing, but deeper than that I don't think he wanted that environment.

[bullsaficianado]

They are a deep team but if say LeBron get's injured I don't see them winning the championship. Not deep like the Warriors were with KD. I also have to wonder how slow they will be against faster and quicker teams. On paper it looks like a Lakers repeat, it depends how well LeBron holds up and how he plays. I don't think Davis as the star himself is capable of winning an NBA title he showed it with Pelicans, he needs another star player alongside him to do it. So despite being deep same as last year they go as far as LeBron/AD take them.

[LakersSoul]

They are a deep team but if say LeBron get's injured I don't see them winning the championship. Not deep like the Warriors were with KD. I also have to wonder how slow they will be against faster and quicker teams. On paper it looks like a Lakers repeat, it depends how well LeBron holds up and how he plays. I don't think Davis as the star himself is capable of winning an NBA title he showed it with Pelicans, he needs another star player alongside him to do it. So despite being deep same as last year they go as far as LeBron/AD take them.

Any team that loses their top player will struggle. The deep Bulls team loses Jordan and they became middle playoff team. So what’s the deal?

[VanWest82]

It's pretty ridiculous. They're the title favorites for sure.

[zimpy27]

Mavs and Hawks are deep too

[xinxin]

So, now that the team is largely filled out, let's take another look. Here is their 2-deep roster

Gasol/Harrell
Davis/Morris
LeBron/Kuzma
Caldwell-Pope/Matthews
Schroder/Caruso

What do you think?

This is a really balanced team - what's crazy is it somehow is alot younger which seemed impossible given the Lakers lack of trade assets and cap space.

I think the only holes are:
1. I think the team needs another athletic/rim protecting big
2. A wing defender with some size/athleticism, Matthews is a tad small for the larger elite wings and Morris is a tad slow footed; remember last year guys like Tatum and Butler lighting them up
3. A 3rd backup PG in case Caruso or Schroder gets hurt, not as important with Lebron but would be good insurance

That will be hard to get with vet min contracts or buyouts but not impossible. If they shored up those holes the only thing beating that team is health or LBJ's decline.

yes, speaking of Lebron's decline. I've been wondering about that. It's going to arrive sooner or later. I guess with some in-game load management, the lakers would be able to stretch lebron's productivity and avoid any injury that can shorten it.

having said that, this season could be Lebron's last legit chance at another title where he is still top dog or at least one of them. I think beyond 2021, even if he wins another title, his role would be greatly reduced by then. still important but NOT the main guy.

[AlexanderRight]

IDK why everybody is saying we're losing a lot of defense.

Caruso
KCP
Kuz
LeBron
AD

That has been our closing line-up in almost all of our games. Now we also have Wes instead of Green but that's a wash. So basically we're only losing Howard's shot blocking ability. But we're still not done exploring the market for minimum contracts or ring chasers and thus a potential shotblocker or someone that can bring another versatility part on our team. On the other hand, we have added 2 19 point scorers which we can plug into our line-up, who create their own offense without LeBron's help and even win games if he's out. I'll take my chances. This year's roster is clearly better than last year.

They think Dwight Howard was the bulk of our defense for some reason. We can still lock up anyone with that starting 5. Defense is the Lakers culture now, no one player changes that.

Defensively, wouldn’t you agree that Rondo, Dwight and Danny Green are all better than Wesley, Harrell, and Dennis? Playoff Rondo is better than Dennis and Harrell got cooked with the same job Howard excelled in. Who the hell are KCP and Kuzma gonna lock up?

[LakersSoul]

deeeeeeeep.

sad to see rondo go tho. such an intellectual. There was this moment when they won one of the playoff games, I believe against the nuggets, on ADs buzzer beater, and rondo looked so pissed. wasn't excited about the last second shot -- like he knew it shouldn’t have come down to that. He didn't just want to win, he wants to win in a certain way. he has such a love for the game and the flow.

I get why he went to the hawks... great way to make money and retire, but also think he’s intellectually excited by getting to shape Trae and that team. like it’s a different type of challenge. I couldn't imagine him going somewhere that his mind wouldn't be working in interesting ways. I think its why he didn't go the clips route... obv the clear money thing, but deeper than that I don't think he wanted that environment.

I like Rondo even though he was frustrating to see during RS. Playoff Rondo was beauty in motion, a true work of art.

One thing about Rondo is his fire and loyalty. There was no way after loving Purple and Gold that he was going to jump to Clippers, not this season. He is just a passionate and loyal person to a fault.

[R-DAWG]

Thinking about this last night - I think we need to look at the regular season Lakers and postseason Lakers differently. In the regular season, especially with the shortened offseason, the Lakers need to balance winning with load management - Lebrons minutes/usage, Gasol's minutes, and the minutes Davis plays at C. This is where the Schroeder/Harrell combination comes into play. The Lakers can lean on these guys, especially on 2nd nights of back to backs against mediocre to bad teams.

Come playoff time, the Lakers closing lineup will again, with maybe the exception of playing against Denver, Davis at the 5, Lebron as the playmaker, and mixing and matching 3 and D guys - the base lineup being Carusso-Matthews-KCP-James-Davis. They can mix and match in Schroeder, Harrell, Gasol, Morris or Kuzma depending on the matchup and who has the hot hand.

[R-DAWG]

deeeeeeeep.

sad to see rondo go tho. such an intellectual. There was this moment when they won one of the playoff games, I believe against the nuggets, on ADs buzzer beater, and rondo looked so pissed. wasn't excited about the last second shot -- like he knew it shouldn’t have come down to that. He didn't just want to win, he wants to win in a certain way. he has such a love for the game and the flow.

I get why he went to the hawks... great way to make money and retire, but also think he’s intellectually excited by getting to shape Trae and that team. like it’s a different type of challenge. I couldn't imagine him going somewhere that his mind wouldn't be working in interesting ways. I think its why he didn't go the clips route... obv the clear money thing, but deeper than that I don't think he wanted that environment.

I like Rondo even though he was frustrating to see during RS. Playoff Rondo was beauty in motion, a true work of art.

One thing about Rondo is his fire and loyalty. There was no way after loving Purple and Gold that he was going to jump to Clippers, not this season. He is just a passionate and loyal person to a fault.

As good as Rondo was in the postseaon, given his age and past regular seasons, there was no way to justify tying up $7.5MM in cap space in 2021 on him.

[dautjazz]

In the end of the day, your rotations in the playoffs are about 9-10 deep, not 12

Gasol
AD
Lebron
Mathews
Shroeder

Harrell
Kuzma
Morris
KCP
Caruso

I mean beyond their top 7 players they may not have anything particularly special, but in the end of they day they have 2 of 7 best players in the league, including the best player in the NBA, nobody else has that going for them.