Los Angeles Lakers: Each new acquisition’s unique role next season
By Jason Reed
JaVale McGee: Help beat the Warriors
The chances of the Los Angeles Lakers beating the Golden State Warriors is slim, the Warriors are just far too talented. However, although JaVale McGee is not an elite talent himself, he helps the Lakers in a big way when it comes to having the proper game plan to defeat Golden State.
This is of course due to McGee’s experience on the Golden State Warriors. McGee has spent the last two seasons on the Warriors and knows how the offense works, what the strengths and what the weaknesses are better than anyone else the Lakers could have brought in.
While this might slightly change with new pieces such as DeMarcus Cousins, McGee has a strong enough understanding to relay to LeBron and head coach Luke Walton to not only win this season but grow a foundation for years to come.
Knowing the Warriors inside and out will even allow the Lakers to build the team better in the future. LA is obviously competing against Golden State and can pick and choose who to bring in based on the information that McGee has. That is the beauty of bringing in one-year contracts.
Heck, McGee can even relay information to Lance Stephenson to further help him get under the skin of everyone on the team. That is a bit of a petty move but utilizes both players in their roles.
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Overall, McGee is not going to help much in a production sense, that is why the Lakers still need to add another big man. Schematically, though, JaVale McGee was a good signing by the Lakers.