With training camp getting closer, the Los Angeles Lakers still have a lot of questions about their rotation around their stars. A number of players bring different things to the table and figuring out the best lineups and rotations will be crucial for new coach Darvin Ham. Two of the most intriguing options are second-year guard Austin Reaves and big man Thomas Bryant.
Reaves was a standout performer for the Lakers last season, going from a developmental project at the end of the bench to one of the few reliable role players on the roster. Bryant has all of the tools to be a stretch-5 for the Lakers, something the team sorely needs as shooting is a question mark.
So far, both players seem to be making strong arguments to be major parts of the Lakers’ rotation as Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that Reaves and Bryant have been two of the main standouts in player workouts so far:
Reaves and Thomas Bryant have been two of the standout performers in player workouts, league sources told The Athletic.
Buha noted that Reaves has bulked up to 209 pounds, which is a huge deal for defensive purposes. Reaves showed himself to be a positive defender last season but simply didn’t have the size to match up physically with bigger wings and he obviously plans on changing that. Doing that while improving on his 31.7% shooting from 3-point range will basically guarantee Reaves a major role if not a starting spot.
Bryant returning to form would be massive for the Lakers as he looked to be a very promising big man in Washington before unfortunately tearing his ACL. Bryant averaged 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 2020 while knocking down 40.7% of his 3-pointers and was off to a great start in 2021 before the injury. He didn’t look like himself upon returning last season, but with even more time removed from the ACL injury, Bryant has an opportunity to surprise a lot of people.
If the Lakers are to exceed expectations this season it will require better-than-average performances from the role players and it looks like some of them are ready to deliver on that.
Lakers interested in Jazz ‘spare part’ veterans after Donovan Mitchell trade
There could potentially be some more depth on the way to the Lakers following the Utah Jazz trading away star player Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Utah is reportedly open to trading Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley Jr. and Jordan Clarkson and the Lakers reportedly have interest.
If the Lakers are able to bring in a scoring option like Bogdanovic or Clarkson it would undoubtedly bolster the team even more and get them closer to being a threat in the Western Conference this season.
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