Getty A detail of the jersey of LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets.
While recently, news that LeBron could be making a positional switch to point guard came to light, head coach Frank Vogel shot down the notion that anything had already been decided so far out from the start of the season. However, some comments made during Quinn Cook‘s free agency pitch paint things in a slightly different light – one in which the Lakers have seemingly already decided on their plan.
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Lakers’ Free Agency Pitch To Quinn Cook May Hint At LeBron James’ Role Switch to Point Guard
Cook shared some insight on his free agency decision with Mercury News and while he explained a lot of his decision to join the Lakers came down to simply being wanted, he dropped an interesting nugget regarding what the front office envisioned his role to be.
“Cook said that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka told him that he was ‘the perfect fit’ to share point-guard duties with Rajon Rondo and LeBron James after winning an NBA title out of two Finals appearances with the Warriors.”
While LeBron more or less already plays the point, he has been primarily utilized in a point forward role as opposed to a point guard. There isn’t much difference aside from having an extra guard on the floor while he plays forward and an extra forward on the floor when he plays guard. This could help offer the Lakers a bit of lineup flexibility as they would ideally like to try and maximize budding star – and fellow forward – Kyle Kuzma‘s role alongside Anthony Davis and James.
However, a lineup featuring James, Davis, and Kuzma could cause some defensive issues as it seems unlikely that James would defend opposing point guards. James is simply too old and carries too much of an offensive workload to be running through screens on the perimeter all night. Enter Quinn Cook. \n
Cook has the ability to play off the ball as a catch and shoot specialist despite being a point guard, meaning the Lakers have an ideal weapon to nominally play at the point and space the floor with while LeBron actually runs and facilitates the offense. It also ensures that the Lakers have a quick guard on the perimeter who can step up and cover opposing point guards – allowing LeBron to play his usual “rover” position from the wing.
Lakers Drop Another Summer League Game to Knicks
The Lakers fell in their fourth consecutive Summer League game bringing their record in Vegas to 0-4. Despite strong performances from Devontae Cacok, Jordan Caroline, and Zach Norvell Jr., the Lakers were unable to keep things close with the lottery pick laden Knicks.
After a promising 2-1 start in the California Classic, the Lakers wind up with an 0-4 record and are stuck playing in a consolation game for their final Las Vegas appearance.