Lakers News: Analyzing Lineup Changes and Roster Health After NBA Trade Deadline
To those faithful to the Los Angeles Lakers: Rest easy.
The team whiffed on Goran Dragic and other high-profile free agents during Thursday's rush to the trade deadline. To salt the wound, it was one of the most active in recent memory.
For those who follow the team closely, though, Thursday—at best—was a chance to add a minor complementary piece to help round out the roster for the future.
Now the Lakers transition toward that future, as the coaching staff explores new ways to get younger players involved.
Health Updates
For the Lakers to seize the future now, the team first needs to be healthy.
Mike Trudell of Lakers.com provides an update on three of the roster's more important names moving forward:
Wayne Ellington may or may not be in the future plans for the organization, but the 27-year old guard in his first year with the team figures to receive plenty of time moving forward. The North Carolina product flashes potential with 9.3 points per game on 22.9 minutes, but the staff will need to see what he does with an uptick in court appearances.
Nick Young is more of a "let's win a few games" option at this point more than anything. He's going to be around, and if he's healthy, the USC product figures to fill up the stat sheet, as he did last season with the burden of production on his shoulders.
Then there is Jordan Hill, who was likely everyone's favorite trade suggestion for the Lakers. At 27 years old and with averages of 12.3 points and 8.0 rebounds, Hill does not figure to be in future plans if the team chooses to get younger.
For now, though, it appears the break did the Lakers some good, especially with some changes on the way.
Making Changes
The emphasis in Los Angeles has been on the future since Kobe Bryant went down with his season-ending injury.
According to head coach Byron Scott, more changes to his rotation will mean more opportunities for fresh faces to carve out a name for themselves.
“I’ll probably make another lineup change just to get some other guys some time to just go out there and show what they can do as well,” Scott said, per Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com. “So I do expect probably one more, at least, lineup change.”
As Medina notes, a lineup that features Jordan Clarkson, Ellington, Ryan Kelly, Tarik Black and Robert Sacre is not exactly working from a win standpoint—the lineup has produced one win in the past 10 outings.
It will no be easy to predict who receives a bump in playing time at this point. The Linsanity is very much over, so don't expect to see a whole lot of Jeremy Lin.
Perhaps someone such as 25-year-old forward Ed Davis will see the floor even more, which is probably fine by him considering that his plan is to opt out of the final year of his deal this offseason in order to score even more money with the Lakers, according to Medina.
If Davis can bump up his eight points and 7.3 rebounds per game, he may be on to something as the season comes to a close. Each individual—whether an impending free agent or not—has a whole lot riding on the second half of this season.
The Kobe Bryant Question
The discussion around Bryant continues to evolve.
Bryant will be back in the fold next season and figures to be healthy by the time the season tips.
That's great, but the Lakers' inability to improve the roster at this year's trade deadline has some wondering if the team will do enough to convince Bryant to give 2016 a go, too.
Scott's answer to this question is quite telling, as captured by Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.
“I think he’ll take a real hard look at what we’ve got and say, ‘You know what? Maybe I’ll go one more,’” Scott said. "I think obviously that’s up to him and how he feels, but he proved to me this summer and then during this season that he can go a couple more years if he wants to.”
The unspoken plan in place has always been that the Lakers will make another high selection in this year's draft and add top-tier free agents in the offseason, because at the end of the day the Lakers are still the Lakers.
Bryant figures to be a part of that one way or another. Even if he comes back in a rotational role on a lesser deal, there are no reasons to believe just yet that Bryant won't be around in two years.
The Lakers still make moves when it matters most. It didn't Thursday, but it will this offseason.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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