Lakers News: LA To Be Without Two Critical Wings For At Least Two Weeks
Your banged-up Los Angeles Lakers just got some bad news today.
The club will be missing two of its most important wings on both sides of the floor over at least the next two weeks. Shams Charania of The Athletic reveals that 6'4" starting shooting guard/small forward Lonnie Walker IV will miss at least the next two weeks as he continues to grapple with the left knee tendinitis that has already sidelined him for a week. Given that head coach Darvin Ham just Wednesday had indicated he didn't expect Walker to be out for long with the ailment, this news suggests that there has been at least something of a setback in his progress.
Walker, the team's third-leading scorer, had been enjoying his best overall season as a pro for the 17-21 Lakers. Through 32 healthy contests, he was averaging 14.7 points per game on .455/.384/.875 shooting splits, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.8 steals a night.
Additionally, per Charania, 6'5" Lakers reserve shooting guard/small forward Austin Reaves will also miss at least the next two weeks with a left hamstring strain. Reaves has become a fan favorite since joining the Lakers as an undrafted rookie in 2021, as evinced by his robust showing in the first wave of 2023 All-Star Game fan voting returns that were announced yesterday. The second-year wing had been averaging 10.8 points with a .488/.360/.896 slash line, 3.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.6 steals per contest, hardly All-Star output as a bench player on a mediocre team, but important numbers nevertheless. Like Walker, Reaves is one of the team's few plus perimeter defenders.
This is a massive bummer for the Lakers. Though the team had gutted through an improbable win against the Miami Heat Wednesday without Walker or, more importantly, All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it will be hard-pressed to replace the output of both Walker and Reaves for a club short on decent wings who can defend. This news may in part explain why LA proved so quick to audition multiple swingmen to sign to potential 10-day deals. It appears that current Raptors 905 wing Sterling Brown is set to become the newest Laker.
Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson and, uh, Kendrick Nunn should be the biggest beneficiaries of these extended absences on the perimeter for LA.
