The Los Angeles Lakers figuring out their team is going to be the storyline of the summer. They have added reinforcements on draft night, selecting Max Christie in the second round while also adding Scotty Pippen Jr. in a two-way contract and signing Shareef O’Neal for the Summer League.
These moves don’t impact the top-end of the roster where Russell Westbrook continues to stick out like a sore thumb. Gilbert Arenas was hosting his show on Fubo Sports with guests like Tracy McGrady and Matt Barnes, where they broke down the avenues to success for the Lakers.
McGrady suggested that Westbrook come off the bench to maximize what he and LeBron can do, as playing them together is causing issues. Arenas wasn’t quick to agree. While he understood the reason, he thought it’d be very hard for Russ to accept a bench role when the Lakers roster is so thin.
“I think AD’s too fragile. I think it’s him (Russ) and Bron that don’t mesh. Russ is not a Kyrie that when you give the ball to him, he can create and do all the things, so it’s like two people that need to go downhill.”
“It has to be a great offensive game plan for both of them,” Arenas said about Russ and LeBron.
“How do you tell Mr. Triple Double to come off the bench? He gotta sit on the bench and watch. Who gonna start in front of me? Uhh. Who? What’s their name? I don’t even know who that man is but I gotta watch them start? If I was him, I’d be the most hateful person in the world,” Arenas added.
If the Lakers don’t have a quality player that can contribute properly from the point guard position, benching Russ is just a temporary fit solution. Unless they start playing LeBron at the point like how they did in 2019-20, the awkwardness with Russ and LBJ on the court together will continue.
Hopefully, Darvin Ham can figure out what buttons to push to get Russ motivated ahead of the 2021-22 season so that the Lakers can avoid missing the Playoffs again.
