Lakers News: Bettors Believe 3 LA Role Players Have Shot At Major 2024 Hardware

But there's a major caveat.

Your Los Angeles Lakers will be trotting out a totally stacked roster next season.

To wit, even Las Vegas oddsmakers are bullish on the club's projected bench depth. 

Per BetOnline, two LA role players are already early preseason favorites to net consideration for the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year award: power forward Rui Hachimura (who's been given the 12th-best odds at +2800) and power forward/center Christian Wood (14th-best at +3300).

Hachimura started in the last game of LA's 2023 season, a must-win Western Conference Finals matchup against the Denver Nuggets, having emerged as clearly the club's best power forward last season. LA has revamped its frontcourt this summer, and it's unclear exactly how Darvin Ham's rotation will shake out. There's a chance Hachimura or Wood starts (and Wood could actually start at center, shifting Anthony Davis down to his preferred spot at the four), but new center Jaxson Hayes and last season's general starter at power forward, Jarred Vanderbilt, could both snag a spot alongside AD.

New point guard Gabe Vincent, who is by far the more proven postseason two-way commodity at his position than nominal starter D'Angelo Russell, has been given +4000 odds, the 21st-best on the board as of this writing. Yours truly believes that's a bit of a stretch, given that Vincent might eventually start for D-Lo before the year is out (provided LA doesn't flip Russell for some other upgrade).

New York Knicks combo guard Immanuel Quickley, last year's runner-up for the honor behind Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon, is considered the frontrunner at present, with +600 odds. Brogdon is right behind him, with +800 odds.

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