Lakers Reportedly Have Plan to Move Anthony Davis Back to Preferred Forward Position
Your Los Angeles Lakers welcomed in a number of new faces to hopefully take them over the top this coming season and solidify themselves above the likes of the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and more contenders in the Western Conference. We saw one of the best versions of Anthony Davis last year and he was on a defensive tear the entire postseason before he ran into Nikola Jokic and ran out of gas.
Even though the star big man has expressed the desire to stay at the power forward position, the Lakers have not been able to find a consistent, full-time center to allow him to do so since 2020 and he's had to stay as the 5 for majority of the time. It can be argued that it's better this way because then LeBron James can guard 4's instead of quicker wings but apparently LA thinks they can pull off AD's dream this year.
They have yet to sign another big man this summer but Jaxson Hayes was welcomed in early on after some disappointing first few seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans and with his athleticism and lengthy wingspan, he has potential on both sides of the floor. And recent reports state that the Lakers are confident Hayes will be able to start next to Davis in the front court and give the former champion the freedom he's been asking for.
"The Lakers have five players who deserve to play at least 20 minutes, at least in the regular season: James, Davis, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince. That’s before mentioning Jaxson Hayes, who the team is hopeful can start and play a prominent role with Davis in two-big lineups."
(Via The Athletic)
It will be very interesting to see how this plays out and I think a lot of this falls on whether or not AD starts hitting three's at a high clip again. He shot 25 percent from deep in the regular season last year and 33 percent in the playoffs. Hayes is no shooter himself and LA needs spacing above all else.
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