Lakers: Three reasons to stop pursuing superstars

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Playing time becomes a more serious issue

Landing a superstar or two means that a team is ready to give their full attention to them. It’s out of respect for the fact that the player has established themselves as a top tier guy in the best league on the planet.

For instance, you’re not going to put LeBron James in a game off of the bench. That would be madness. The same could be said for Paul George and Russell Westbrook, and again that seems like it’ll only further divide the vision of the team.

Westbrook plays Ball’s position, while George and James play Ingram’s. Understandably so, you could mix things up in terms of who plays where, but it wouldn’t necessarily be a good fit for everybody. Russell Westbrook may not excel as a two guard and may not even want a changed role if he came to Los Angeles.

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Ball, being just drafted and put on a pedestal as the guy that can save the franchise from sinking any deeper, isn’t going to want less minutes either. That’s before you even get to the Brandon Ingram issue where it could be a real problem.

Let’s say that the Lakers don’t even bother with Westbrook, and Ball does an outstanding job and is one of or the best rookie next season. They go on to sign LeBron James and Paul George. Regardless of how you feel about them or even Brandon Ingram, the best way to get the stars playing time is put them at both forward spots.

James can play pretty much any position, and George can be flexible too. With Ingram still trying to grow his game, it’ll be hard for him to have to do that. Although it could lead to a potential super team, it’s a move that will drastically change how the young core is viewed both now and in the long term.

And that’s not necessarily a good thing.

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