Getty Darvin Ham & Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers still have plenty of time before they’ll start gearing up for training camp but they do still have two roster spots open. They’re likely to keep one open into the regular season but the other one should be filled before training camp.
Former Dallas Mavericks big man Christian Wood has been mentioned as a possible fit but Ben Stinar of Sports Illustrated believes the team should make a run at six-time All-Star forward Blake Griffin.
“Griffin has transitioned well into becoming a veteran off the bench,” Stinar wrote in a July 30 column.
“He could still be a reliable backup forward and help the young players on the roster as a mentor in the locker room.”
Griffin was once one of the faces of the NBA and made five-straight All-Star games from 2010 to 2015 with the Los Angeles Clippers. He has played for three different teams over the past three seasons, most recently with the Boston Celtics. Griffin isn’t an impact player like he used to be. He averaged just 4.1 points a game last season and 2.6 rebounds. He wouldn’t provide much on the court for the Lakers but could bring some leadership on the bench. Signing Griffin wouldn’t be as impactful as landing a player like Wood.
Blake Griffin was putting on a show back in 2012 for some future NBA stars 😂
@usabasketball camp starts up this week in Las Vegas to prep for the @FIBAWC 👀
Los Angeles Lakers Hoping Jaxson Hayes Plays ‘Prominent Role’
Though general manager Rob Pelinka has previously said the team would like to add another center, they have high hopes for one that they already signed in free agency. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the Lakers expect big things from center Jaxson Hayes.
“The Lakers have five players who deserve to play at least 20 minutes, at least in the regular season: James, Davis, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince,” Buha wrote in a July 31 column. “That’s before mentioning Jaxson Hayes, who the team is hopeful can start and play a prominent role with Davis in two-big lineups.”
The former top-10 draft pick has struggled to live up to his draft status. He has averaged just 7.5 points a game across four seasons with 4.0 rebounds. The Lakers have a dominant big man in Anthony Davis so they don’t need Hayes to be a star. If he can just provide some solid defense and score some points in the paint, he’ll be a good addition for the Lakers.
D’Angelo Russell Has High Hopes for Los Angeles Lakers
Instead of massively reworking the roster in free agency, the Lakers decided to bring back much of last year’s squad. One of the players they brought back was veteran guard D’Angelo Russell. He’s very high on what Los Angeles can do this upcoming season.
“I have no idea. I know we got a lot of bodies though, what you said, we got a lot of bodies,” Russell said on the August 2 episode of the “Pat Bev Podcast with Rone.” “So trying to give the team what it needs every night to win, I think that’s gotta be our focus. Whatever or however it gets done, if everybody is locked into just giving the team what it needs that night. That night might be scoring, the next night might be eight assists, the next night might be all passes because they ran you off and you made the one more to Austin Reaves in the corner, he’s hitting. It’s gotta be the right play, right mentality type of energy for our group because anybody can do it. He can throw any five out there and get it done. But if we’re all committed to that I think sky is the limit for the group honestly.”