Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers are hopeful — perhaps more than they usually are this time of year — after the team pulled no punches in its transition away from the LeBron James era.
Most of the attention has gone to the addition of Walker Kessler, and rightfully so. The Lakers mortgaged a majority of their assets to land Luka Doncic’s preferred big man in a move that almost had to be made. As The Athletic’s Dan Woike noted, not aggressively pursuing Kessler may have complicated the Lakers’ still-early relationship with Doncic.
“We should first acknowledge the danger of not making this move. Let’s say the Lakers settled on a shorter-term solution at the position,” Woike wrote. “That could have sent a message to Dončić that his priority didn’t align with the team’s. That even if the center market wasn’t great. That Dončić would need to wait longer for a real answer that might not ever come. That stuff is all true.”
Kessler Isn’t the Only High-Risk Move
It was a busy free agency for L.A. The Lakers added a ton of depth pieces, but at more than a modest price. Among the new additions is big man Sandro Mamukelshvili, who was signed to a four-year, $52 million contract in July. The fact of the matter is that Mamukelashvili will either look like a bargain or a bad contract for the Lakers in a couple of years. But there is plenty of reason to be hopeful, as the 27-year-old big man has drawn no shortage of praise from folks around the NBA.
“A lot of people in the NBA’s scouting and analytics community love Mamukelashvili. They love the person — he has a tremendous reputation as a great locker-room guy,” Woike wrote. “They like his size and skill set, particularly the shooting. They like the work ethic that drove him from two-way contracts to an important role with the Toronto Raptors last season.”
Mamukelashvili is coming off a strong season with the Toronto Raptors, averaging over 11 points per game while shooting nearly 39 percent from the 3-point line. One thing is for sure: Mamukelashvili will be an excellent floor-spacer for Doncic.
Mamu’s Likely Role
Mamukelashvili is just tall enough to be considered for minutes at center, where the Lakers are still thin.
“By using Mamu as the primary backup in the backup at the center spot, to actually get value on his contract. With the amount that they gave him, you need to get Mamu more than 20 minutes a night,” Lakers reporter Trevor Lane said. “And the way to do that might be just allowing him to absorb all the backup five minutes behind Walker Kessler.”
Of course, Mamukelashvili isn’t nearly the defender Kessler is, and that might limit how much the Lakers can depend on him as the back up center. But offensively, Mamukelashvili can unlock so much for his teammates.
“Mamu is a versatile offensive player who can be trusted to get a bucket, while often punching above his weight class — both from a height standpoint and a roster position one,” Raptors reporter Julian Apolinario told the Silver Screen and Roll. “He has experience playing both power forward and center, and is a great locker room guy.”
Mamukelashvili is organically suited to play power forward, another area the Lakers have some uncertainty about.
L.A. will have options, from treating him as the sixth man — he was top 10 in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season — to using him as the starting power forward or backup center.
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