Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James should not be the starting point guard

The Los Angeles Lakers have filled out the entire roster and now have a lot of people expecting LeBron James to play the point guard position.

The Los Angeles Lakers had an extremely thin roster while the team was awaiting Kawhi Leonard‘s decision but the second that Leonard chose the Los Angeles Clippers the Lakers went on a signing spree to build a capable rotation.

By bringing back old faces and signing new free agents, the Los Angeles Lakers have 14 players to fill out the regular season rotation, which is exactly what you need during the grind of an NBA season.

Once the playoffs hit that rotation will dwindle down to around eight guys, but for the regular season, you need as many hands on deck as you can get. And while the Lakers did miss out on some notable role players this summer, the front office actually did a decent job at bringing in complementary pieces.

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With the Lakers likely being done with the additions, everyone is looking at the potential starting lineup that Frank Vogel is going to throw out. And for the most part, including ESPN’s depth chart for the team, people are expecting LeBron James to start at the point guard position.

James might be known for his distributive style of play and that might seem like an intriguing fit to create pick and rolls with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, but LeBron should not be the team’s starting point guard.

He should slot in as the starting small forward, and likely will, moving Kyle Kuzma to the bench to become the team’s impact sixth man.

First and foremost, the Lakers did not bring in three traditional point guards if Vogel is planning on starting LeBron at the point. Los Angeles re-signed Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso and also brought in former Warrior and NBA Champion, Quinn Cook.

All three of those guys bring their own gusto to the Los Angeles Lakers. Rondo is a ball-dominant playmaker that would be the perfect court general when LeBron James is on the bench.

Alex Caruso is a decent shooter with above average defense that could become an ample three and D guy if he improves his off-ball movement and shooting. Most importantly, he is not a point guard that demands the ball to be successful.

And Cook is an experienced bench piece with title experience that could be a heat check guy. Depending on how he plays in the regular season will determine if he gets minutes in a playoff rotation.

Without LeBron at the three, the position is rather thin and filled with guys that are not great fits. Kuzma would start there and while he can play the three, he is much better suited to play the four. Behind him, at least in ESPN’s eyes, the Lakers have new signee Avery Bradley — who is six-foot-two.

They could have Bradley at the two and move Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Talen Horton-Tucker to be Kuzma’s primary backup but that is still forcing a fit that you do not really have to force. Instead of forcing multiple things, James can just start as the small forward and still play his traditional point-forward role.

This is also important for defensive purposes. LeBron can still be a good defender when he tries but is not going to be able to defend an elite guard over the course of 35 minutes.

Without a traditional point guard that can at least guard these guys, the Lakers are going to create even more defensive mismatches for a team that already is not great defensively.

Next. Why Alex Caruso should start at point guard. dark

While he could end games as the point guard in crunch time when the team wants both him and Kuzma on the court, LeBron James should not start at the position for the Los Angeles Lakers. It only creates more problems than it solves.

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