The Los Angeles Lakers are going to have to start their NBA experience at Disney World with some unfamiliar faces in prominent places. While the Lakers added J.R. Smith to replace Avery Bradley’s place on the roster, the loss of Bradley, as well as the more recent loss of Rajon Rondo, their most experienced operator outside of LeBron James, for at least six weeks, puts even more pressure on James to handle the ball and create for his team.
The Lakers have a few other guards that have played point guard before, including Quinn Cook and Alex Caruso, but given his skill in the pick and roll, Lakers coach Frank Vogel is also curious to look at what Dion Waiters can do as the lead creator at times for L.A.
Mostly due to injury, we haven’t seen a ton of Waiters running the show in recent seasons. His career-best season in 2016-17 with ended with ankle surgery and he never regained the form or the spot in the rotation, he had in that season in Miami. But that season, as well as the fact that Waiters is only 28, gives Vogel plenty of legitimate reason to look at it as his Rondo alternative.
Waiters has also proven to be a very useful role player before in his career, being a key part of the Oklahoma City Thunder team that had a 3-1 lead over the Warriors. During that postseason, he averaged 27 minutes per game off the bench and shot a solid 37.5% from the 3-point line. And while he may not be the ideal first option to have in the pick and roll, he has the ability to score in isolation as well, something that becomes even more prevalent when the playoffs come around.
