The moves made by the Los Angeles Lakers front office at the trade deadline this season truly changed the trajectory of the team. Adding D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to the supporting cast surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis has the Lakers feeling like a threat once again.
The roster simply makes sense now with all of the players understanding their roles and thriving in them. There is more shooting, more of a defensive identity and more overall depth on the roster. It is a team that Davis believes could grow into something special.
In an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Davis said that he likes the Lakers chances against anyone right now and with a full training camp together, they could be an even bigger threat:
“If we actually have a full summer, full training camp, go through an entire season, who knows the position we’ll be in,” Davis said. ” … The team we have now, we feel like not only can we make noise this year, and I like our chance against anybody to be honest. You put anybody against us, I like our chances. … Who knows what we could be, what threat we could be next year and then years to come if they work it out and are able to keep this group together.”
The Lakers have six players in their rotation who will be free agents this summer: D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Troy Brown Jr., Dennis Schroder, Rui Hachimura and Wenyen Gabriel. Bringing all of them back might be too much to ask, but the front office will need to figure out those who must be kept around for the future.
There is clearly chemistry with this group and with more time together, the results could be excellent. In fact, Davis sees some similarities with this roster and the 2020 Championship team:
“We have less bigs, for sure, but I think adding D-Lo, Vando, Beas, gives us that identity again,” Davis said. “With Beas filling that KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] role as a shooter. D-Lo is like that [Rajon] Rondo wizardry with the ball and finds guys. … Vando with the AC [Alex Caruso] role that he played. Even bringing Rui with the Kuz [Kyle Kuzma] role. So, obviously that team was special. … But I think this team has potential to be like that team.”
Davis certainly does a good job with those comparisons between the current players and what they bring and how similar they are with that championship squad. Brown even fills a similar role to Danny Green, so there’s that as well, but where does that leave Reaves? Perhaps he is beyond comparison at this point.
Regardless, there is a belief throughout this roster that this group is special. They may not be able to bring back everyone, but keeping the core group together with a healthy Davis and LeBron could lead to great things in future seasons.
Lakers’ Darvin Ham, D’Angelo Russell credit Malik Beasley’s professionalism
And to that point of how special this group is, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham recently made a change to the starting lineup, inserting Reaves and moving Beasley to the bench. Often times this can lead to pouting or an attitude issue, but Beasley handled the move just fine and it did not go unnoticed.
Ham praised Beasley for his professionalism and staying locked in despite the move to the bench, calling it an example of the competitiveness and togetherness he has been preaching all season long. Likewise, Russell credited Beasley while speaking on his growth, adding that a lot of people were wrong about the Lakers guard.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
