JaVale McGee quietly enjoyed arguably the best season of his career in 2018-19.
Entrenched as a starter for the first time since 2011-12, McGee rewarded the Los Angeles Lakers' confidence by averaging 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting a personal-best 64.9 percent from the field. On a per-minute basis, he was more productive last season than any other save 2016-17, when he first began rehabilitating his career during his debut campaign with the Golden State Warriors.
By any measure, McGee was well worth the one-year, $2.4 million contract for the veteran's minimum he signed with the Lakers last July. Whether or not Los Angeles should re-sign him, though, is a matter worth debating, one that will be best decided after the team has a better grasp of how it will be using its cap space this summer.
But one Lakers fan believes the purple-and-gold should retain McGee, albeit in a more confined role than he played last season, coming off the bench. Needless to say, the 11-year veteran doesn't seem keen on returning to Los Angeles if it means taking a backseat to another center.
FOH
— Javale PIERRE 3Xs McGee (@JaValeMcGee) May 30, 2019
It's hardly ridiculous to suggest that McGee would be best-suited reverting back to a reserve role. Los Angeles' defensive rating last season was over five points per 100 possessions higher when he was on the floor despite his oft impressive rim-protection, and his limitations on both sides of the ball would have been more exploited under the playoff microscope than they were throughout the regular season.
McGee, just recently on the fringes of the NBA, has clearly established himself as worthy of a roster spot, and perhaps a role in a good team's rotation depending on the pieces around him. But if he's expecting to be paid like a starter this summer, McGee might be sorely disappointed.
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