How Lakers Should Utilize Guard Depth amid Schroder Injury, Westbrook Trade Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers are set to open their 2022-23 campaign Tuesday against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

It's a challenge that Lakers standout Anthony Davis is willing to embrace.

"It's always good to spoil a ring night," Anthony Davis said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "So our mindset is going up and starting this season with a couple W's."

Unfortunately, Los Angeles won't be at full strength for the Warriors matchup. Point guard Russell Westbrook suffered a hamstring in the preseason finale and may not suit up. Fellow point guard Dennis Schroder is also expected to miss a significant stretch following finger surgery.

The good news is that Los Angeles did a nice job of accumulating guard depth this offseason. The Lakers added Schroder and Patrick Beverley to a group that already included Westbrook, Austin Reaves and Kendrick Nunn. Star forward LeBron James can also play point guard.

Of course, this is an amount of depth that L.A. nearly didn't have. According to McMenamin, the initial plan was to add Schroder only after/if Westbrook was traded.

"The Lakers originally planned to have found a trade partner for Westbrook before signing Schroder, sources said," McMenamin wrote. "But after the point guard's strong showing for Germany in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament generated interest around the league, L.A. signed him before another team could."

While that guard depth will be necessary early, the Lakers will have some tough decisions to make once Westbrook and Schroder are both healthy. That's a good problem to have—and not only because Westbrook could still be dealt.

"The Lakers, at some point here, will start engaging teams again on possible Russell Westbrook trades," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Today (around the two-minute mark).

Having multiple quality guards will allow head coach Darvin Ham to continue his experiment of using Westbrook off the bench. In theory, this could be the best way for L.A. to maximize Westbrook's offensive impact.

Westbrook is a fast-paced player who thrives off the break. Having him as the centerpiece of the second-team offense could allow Los Angeles to create big tempo shifts in games, with James and Davis leading a more physical, methodical attack.

This is an option that is only now available thanks to the addition of Ham. Former head coach Frank Vogel didn't believe that Westbrook would accept a second-team role, according to Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic:

"After evaluating their lineups and rotation in training camp and the preseason, the Lakers determined in recent days, sources say, that it would be best to stagger James and Westbrook. It was something the Lakers considered doing last season, but then-head coach Frank Vogel was reluctant because he feared Westbrook wouldn’t respond well to coming off the bench."

Ham didn't get a long look at Westbrook off the bench in the preseason, but he should continue the experiment to see if it will work. Los Angeles can use Beverley as the starting point guard with Nunn also in the backcourt.

Reaves, who shined late in his rookie season last year, could also start at guard if needed. Over his final four games last year, the Oklahoma product dropped an impressive 72 points. He had 31 in the regular-season finale alone.

Westbrook can start as well, though we saw last season that he wasn't the best fit with James and Davis also on the floor—not that we saw a ton of games with all three healthy. By utilizing a Beverley-Nunn-Reaves rotation, Ham can continue his trial of Westbrook as a sixth man.

Once Schroder returns, Ham will have even more lineup options, which seems to be the preference for the rookie head coach. As Ham noted at the end of the preseason, putting Westbrook on the bench wasn't a demotion but rather a scheme adjustment.

Creative game-planning and regular lineup changes could potentially make L.A. a dangerous team this season. James and Davis are already a tough tandem to defend. They'll be even harder to counter if Ham can use frequent adjustments to keep the opposition off-balance.

While expectations aren't particularly high for this year's Lakers squad, it would be unwise to write off L.A. before getting a look at the new-look roster and its new head coach.

And, naturally, having a deep group of guards will give the Lakers some flexibility if they ultimately do decide to deal Westbrook. The Lakers will have several players capable of playing point with the second team and won't have to demand a guard back in any pre-deadline trade.

Options are always good, and L.A. has several of them at guard. Ham's best course of action is to continue tinkering with his lineups to find units that provide distinct situation-specific advantages. If he can do that, the Lakers could be in store for a surprisingly strong season.