Does 2023-24 Lakers Starter Deserve Demotion This Year?

Exploring a situation where the one of the Lakers' 23-24 starters is moved to as sixth man role.

Dec 30, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) reacts to his technical foul as he stands between forward Cam Reddish (5) and guard D'Angelo Russell (1) in the first quarter of the game with the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers will head into the 2024-25 season with a completely rehauled coaching staff after the hiring of NBA veteran JJ Redick. Despite the Lakers' shortcomings in the playoffs at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles front-office did not make any massive changes to their roster.

Fans likely expected general manger Rob Pelinka to trade for a high-profile player in the offseason but the roster will look very similar to the squad from a year ago. During the previous NBA season, the Lakers roster dealt with a number of injuries which made it hard for their role players to find chemistry , playing alongside the superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The biggest roster adjustments made by the Lakers this season was the addition of rookies Dalton Knect and Bronny James. The drafting of these two players came after the Lakers decided not to retain Taurean Prince or Spencer Dinwiddie. With a lot familiar faces on the Los Angeles roster it does poise the question as to whether or not the coaching staff will make a change to their starting lineup.

During the 2023-24 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers' starting lineup consisted of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura. Interestingly enough this group of five could change based on how other players perform during Lakers training camp.

James and Davis will be untouchable in the starting lineup, while the Russell-Reaves backcourt will likely be apart of that group as well due to their offensive prowess. The potential odd man out could be forward Rui Hachimura who recently signed a three-year contract extension worth $51 million after his performances during the 2022-23 NBA playoffs.

This past season Hachimura averaged 13.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while also shooting a career-high 53.7 percent from the field. Hachimura has shown a lot of potential as a scorer but might thrive even more in a sixth man role as he is likely to be the best offensive player on the Lakers' second unit.

The 3-and-D potential of Cam Reddish and the rookie Knecht could make them better fits for the Lakers' starting unit that features the elite playmaking ability of James. Both of these players will have to answers questions surrounding consistency, shot-making, and on-ball defense if they want a shot at cracking the Lakers starting five.

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