A year or two ago, the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster was frightfully lacking. One of its biggest weaknesses was a lack of viable forwards other than LeBron James, and it caused a sizable drop in performance and production whenever he went to the bench or was out with an injury.
But a couple of midseason trades this past year changed all that. Now, the Lakers have plenty of depth throughout their roster, especially in the frontcourt. The arrival of Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura helped transform them from mediocre to possibly championship-caliber.
Both of them made HoopsHype’s recent ranking of the NBA’s top 24 power forwards, as did a certain oft-injured and oft-criticized superstar.