The Los Angeles Lakers have revamped their team around the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis in an effort to put themselves back on top of the NBA mountain.
Led by general manager Rob Pelinka, the front office spent the summer putting together a roster they believe will complement their two All-Star players in a variety of ways, creating the cohesion that simply didn’t exist during the 2018-19 NBA season.
On this episode of the Lakers Nation Podcast, host Trevor Lane is joined by Jas Kang to discuss everything going on in the never-boring world of the purple and gold. With training camp just weeks away, they take a look at what needs to go right in order for the Lakers to fulfill their goal of regaining contender status.
With a team full of new faces, that means figuring things out on the fly and finding a way to create chemistry on both ends of the floor. It’s a tall task for head coach Frank Vogel, but also something that will be imperative to the team’s success.
Of course, after last season’s seemingly endless marathon of injuries, a relatively healthy campaign would be a step in the right direction.
Whether through load management, limited minutes, recovery techniques, reduced contact at practice, or all of the above, the Lakers have to find a way to keep their best players vertical and on the floor. Some of it is bad luck, but last season would have looked a lot different had key pieces like James, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram managed to stay healthy.
Speaking of Kuzma, we also discuss his role with the team, which is somewhat simplified now that he’s playing alongside James and Davis. It’s unclear whether or not Kuzma will have a spot in the starting lineup despite clearly being one of the team’s five best players. Should Kuzma come off the bench, he could find himself in position to take home the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award away, provided he is able to get a bit better at his outside shooting and defense.
Finally, we open up the mailbag and discuss topics like Kobe Bryant’s role in the Olympics and if he could have saved the doomed 2004 team, the possibility of signing Iman Shumpert if Andre Iguodala doesn’t hit the market, and a ton more.
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