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On October 15, the Los Angeles Lakers made the decision to retain Matt Ryan for the upcoming season, following some impressive pre-season performances.
“Lakers’ G/F Matt Ryan has made the team’s current opening night roster, as the team won’t waive him by today’s roster cut deadline, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Ryan shot 37.5 percent from 3-point land in preseason – including a 20-point performance with six 3s last Sunday,” Charania reported via Twitter.
Shortly after the news broke, Ryan took to Twitter to send a message to Lakers fans worldwide, where he promised to give his all whenever he’s given the opportunity to represent Lakers Nation on the hardwood.
“Speechless. All I can say is, LETS GO LAKESHOW!! Whether it’s a day, a month, or a year, you’ll get my absolute best every single day. The real work starts now! Thank you Lakers for this special opportunity,” Ryan Tweeted on October 15.
Before joining the Lakers training camp roster this summer, Ryan was impressing for the Boston Celtics during the Las Vegas Summer League tournament, however, the sharpshooter suffered an injury while making a game-winning shot and was unable to secure himself a spot on the Eastern Conference Champions training camp roster – opening the doors for Los Angeles to swoop in.
Anthony Davis Expects Lakers to Contend
Ryan might not become an integral piece of the Lakers’ championship puzzle, but at least he adds some much-needed floor spacing off the bench, which has been a significant issue for Los Angeles over the past two years.
However, despite the team’s limited perimeter scoring talent, superstar forward Anthony Davis believes the Lakers are well situated to win a championship this season – even if those outside of the organization don’t agree.
“The past year, year and a half, we’ve only been seen in a negative light…It’s on us, yes, we have to win basketball games, obviously…We have two mediocre seasons, and now it’s whatever. Which is fine, we don’t really care, we just go out and play basketball and perform. But, it’s also the truth, I mean no one has us winning it (a championship) this year, except for us in this organization,” Davis said during an October 14 appearance on Sirius XM.
The truth is, if LeBron James, Davis, and Westbrook can figure out how to co-exist, and deep bench players such as Ryan perform when given the chance, there aren’t many teams who boast the level of talent that currently resides on the Lakers roster.
Darvin Ham Expected to Keep Westbrook as 6th Man
One way in which Westbrook could become more of an integral contributor for the Lakers this season is by accepting a new role as the team’s sixth man. Right now, LeBron and Davis dominate the first unit’s touches, which is forcing Westbrook into an unflattering role as an off-ball guard, and the results are horrific.
However, if Westbrook was to come off the bench, and lead the second unit, he would be the primary offensive weapon and ball-handler – a role that he has thrived in throughout his career. Yet, in order for this new role to be successful, Westbrook will need to buy into the philosophy, and there’s no guarantee that will happen.
Yet, according to an October 16 report by ESPN’S Dave McMenamin, head coach Darvin Ham intends to press ahead with the lineup change, in the hopes that he can spark Westbrook into a revival.
“The Lakers’ most optimistic outlook for Westbrook is that Ham will get through to him in a way that Vogel couldn’t, and the nine-time All-Star will have a bounce-back season with some better effort defensively and better discretion offensively. Ham closed out the preseason by bringing Westbrook off the bench, a lineup the Lakers will continue to explore during the regular season, sources told ESPN,” McMenamin reported.
If Westbrook can start showing flashes of his former self while coming off the bench, the Lakers have a realistic chance of proving themselves to be worth contenders, but if not, we will likely see him packaged in a trade closer to the February trade deadline.
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