The Los Angeles Lakers signed Deandre Ayton to be their starting center, but head coach JJ Redick has to balance his playing time versus going small. The five-man group of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith had an 18.6 net rating in 108 regular-season minutes last season. It was significantly higher than any of the seven Lakers groups that played 50-plus minutes. Luka wants a lob threat in the middle, but the Lakers had success going playing five-out.
Redick has a rotation dilemma on his hands. Jaxson Hayes may not crack the nightly mix, so the Lakers will have minutes of playing small in nearly every game.