I think that the Lakers already have 12 players that are guaranteed a spot on the team this season: Kobe, Pau, Dwight, Nash, Metta, Jamison, Blake, Jordan Hill, Jodie Meeks, Douglas-Roberts, Ebanks, and most likely Chris Duhon. That leaves 3 roster spots to be filled for the "practice team." As we all know the NBA only allows a team to dress 12 players for a regular season game. So where does that leave the rest of the players trying to make a roster spot?
Unfortunately, for the others on the roster they are most likely not going to be suiting up much this season barring any injuries or just to give a guy a night off. The Lakers aren't exactly a young team and a day off is going to definitely be happening on occasion. I think that the first logical player to be put on the roster will be center Robert Sacre. The last pick in the draft this off-season has been a pleasant surprise during the pre-season. Also, the Lakers are going to need another center on the roster given that Dwight is still trying to return from injury.
The Chris Duhon pick up confused me quite a lot. I thought that the Lakers were satisfied with Steve Blake backing up Steve Nash. Then I realized that Nash is going to need some days off a little more often than the other guys and really we can only expect about 30 minutes a game from him. Duhon, is a solid back-back-up, but I think his spot should go to Darius Johnson-Odom. He isn't really a point guard, but the lakers lack depth at the Shooting Guard position even with the addition of Jodie Meeks.
That leaves one more roster spot to be fought for by about 6 guys. I think that Andrew Goudelock would be a smart choice here, but I am gonna assume that Kobe plays healthy the whole season and his minutes don't need to decrease like many are expecting. That means the logical choice would be to keep somebody out of the blue like Reeves Nelson. I know I am a UCLA-homer and of course I would want somebody from there to play for the Lakers, but he does bring a certain aggression with him that would be beneficial. Reeves is no Metta, on or off the court, but he could learn to bottle that aggression into strong defensive play and who better to learn from then the abundantly explosive former Ron Artest.
I will immediately cut Darius Morris, Ronnie Aguilar, Earl Clark, and Greg Somogyi. Sorry fellas, but you aren't ready for the NBA quite yet. Clark is an interesting player though. I think of the players that the Lakers picked up this season, he still has the most potential. Long and athletic never gets old in the current NBA landscape. I hope that the Lakers might be able to groom him in the D-league for a season and get him back to the NBA superstar many people predicted when he was coming out of Louisville.
Of course, the Lakers are bound to not take any of my selections into serious consideration. I assume that all of the picks I have selected will be dead wrong. Does it really matter? The Lakers are a starter favored team and have been since Kobe entered the league. The bench for the Lake Show has always been just that... a show. They put on their uniforms and hope that the lead gets big enough for them to break a sweat. Fortunately, for this seasons Laker squad it will be most helpful for the starters if they don't have to play big minutes and this bench may be the best the Lakers have had since their title runs at the beginning of the century. We will find out what happens.
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