The Los Angeles Lakers have decisions to make and not much time on hand. With the start of training camp just two weeks away, perhaps the biggest question surrounding the Lakers is how the fifth starter situation will play out.
Among the players the Lakers acquired in free agency are Sandro Mamukelashvili and Ziaire Williams, two players who are believed to be candidates for the starting power forward job. But both players have their limitations; Mamukelashvili isn’t the sharpest defender while Williams is smaller than the average four.
Then there’s one player returning from last season’s roster that is very-much in line for the job. Although some Lakers fans may be down on him, Jake LaRavia, who appeared in all 82 regular season games last season, could earn the starting nod.
Lakers Advised to Demote LaRavia After Inconsistent Season
LaRavia, 24, is still a developing player. He has shown flashes of being a trustable full-time starter, but those moments have been few and far between. For that reason, Lake Show Life’s Tyler Watts believes the Lakers would be making a mistake if they went back to LaRavia as a starter.
“The Los Angeles Lakers have a wide-open spot in their starting lineup, but Jake LaRavia has already proved that he’s not the answer,” Watts wrote. “This goes back to before his days in LA. The 6’7 forward has been inconsistent throughout his first four NBA seasons. LaRavia struggled so much in his first two years that the Grizzlies declined his fourth-year team option in November 2024. He quickly made Memphis regret it, but last season the inconsistency returned in his first season with the Lakers.”
L.A.’s fans grew especially agitated with LaRavia’s drop in 3-point shooting last season. While he has never been a pure flamethrower from beyond the arc, LaRavia’s regression as a shooter last season was hard to ignore.
“The Lakers can’t start a forward who shot 29.2 percent from 3-point range over 68 games last season,” Watts wrote. “If it wasn’t for that hot 14-game stretch, LaRavia would have been one of the worst 3-point shooters in the league. It is impossible to predict his production, and the Lakers don’t want the headaches or questions that come with benching a starter. LaRavia’s inconsistency makes him a reserve, and that is not the only reason.”
If Not LaRavia, Then Who?
Recently, Lakers insider Khobi Price listed four potential candidates for the team’s starting power forward job. And yes — brace yourselves, purple-and-gold faithful — Price ultimately argued that LaRavia is best-suited to take home L.A.’s final starting spot.
“Among these four options, LaRavia is the best for the final starting spot,” Price wrote. “LaRavia may not bring the offensive versatility that Mamukelashvili does, and may not be as good of a perimeter defender as Thybulle, but he’s a better defender than Mamukelashvili and has more experience guarding bigger forwards than Thybulle. He has the size and defensive versatility the Lakers need from their fifth starter while also adding the connective offensive skills the Lakers need from his position. The familiarity of playing alongside Doncic and Reaves is a bonus.”
Meanwhile, many Lakers fans have set their sights on Mamukelashvili, especially after he strung together some elite performances playing for the Georgian national team this summer.
Mamukelashvili, like Williams and LaRavia, is undersized compared to the traditional power forward, but fans have already grown to love his elite 3-point shooting and ability to generate his own scoring opportunities.
Unless the Lakers are inching toward behind the scenes, it appears that the team will look internally to fill its fifth starting spot.
Lakers Urged to Drop Polarizing 6’7″ Starter Because ‘He’s Not the Answer’