The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly began their players-led minicamp on Friday in San Diego. Every player except Dennis Schroder reportedly is at the minicamp ahead of the official start of the team’s training camp on Monday.
Schroder is not in attendance as he is organizing his family’s move back to Los Angeles after a season away from the team where he played for the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.
It’s great to see the Lakers already getting together to prepare for the 2022-23 regular season, especially after all of the struggles last season.
The Lakers failed to make the playoffs in the 2021-22 campaign, but they have a bunch of new faces in the building for the 2022-23 season.
Los Angeles really improved its guard depth by trading for Patrick Beverley and signing Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV in free agency. Los Angeles is also hoping to have Kendrick Nunn in the lineup this season after he missed the entire 2021-22 season with a bone bruise in his knee.
Guard Russell Westbrook is also on the roster. If he remains in Los Angeles, it will be crucial for him to bond with his new teammates as his role may change for the team in the 2022-23 season. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham will have his work cut out for him fitting all of these players into the rotation.
The guard position wasn’t the only area where the Lakers made moves, as they also signed forward Juan Toscano-Anderson and big man Thomas Bryant. Both players figure to factor into the rotation in some way, and Bryant should give Los Angeles a solid shot-blocking presence alongside Anthony Davis in the frontcourt.
At the end of the day, the Lakers’ success in the 2022-23 season is going to come down to the play and health of Davis and LeBron James.
Last season, both players were banged up for a significant period of time, and it hurt the Lakers’ chances at staying afloat in the Western Conference playoff race.
Hopefully, with a new supporting cast and a long offseason off, James and Davis can recapture the magic they had in the 2019-20 season when Los Angeles last won the NBA Finals.
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