Conventional wisdom seems to say that the Los Angeles Lakers‘ starting lineup this season will consist of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves at guard, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura at the forward spots and Deandre Ayton at the 5.
However, there has been some debate about what would be the best starting five for the Lakers. Some feel that newcomer Marcus Smart, a former Defensive Player of the Year, should start, and that Hachimura or even Reaves should be reassigned to the bench to make room for Smart.
At a press conference on Thursday, head coach JJ Redick said he hasn’t decided on a starting lineup yet and that he feels he has as many as eight players who are good enough to start.
Via ESPN:
“It’s not that important to me,” Redick said when asked about the starters. “I haven’t spent a ton of time thinking about it. We certainly have a number of players — seven or eight starter-level players in the NBA. I do know this: I did say that last year. And that starting lineup started eight games together to start the season, and we started 24 lineups throughout the year.
“Not going to spend too much time banging my head against the wall on that before we have a practice.”
Another starting-level player the Lakers have who is new to the team is forward Jake LaRavia. He established himself as a deadly 3-point shooter and a promising defender last season, and Redick spoke highly of him on Thursday.
Media day for the Lakers will be this Monday, Sept. 29. Their first preseason game will take place four days later against the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, Calif.
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