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The Los Angeles Lakers are still dealing with significant uncertainty regarding their playing rotation, as they attempt to make the Russell Westbrook fit work in Year 2. One option that has always been discussed as perhaps the Lakers' best option to maximize their spacing is to move Anthony Davis, a power forward by trade and preference, to center.
And perhaps in Year 11 of his career, Davis is now more willing to line up at the five, especially when the game these days primarily revolves around the perimeter.
According to Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet, Anthony Davis declared that he has the utmost confidence in new head coach Darvin Ham's plan to maximize his skillset, and that he has less qualms banging with the interior brutes of the league these days.
Trudell wrote: “Asked about playing PF vs C, Davis said his focus is on winning basketball games, and that he trusts that Darvin Ham will put him in the best spot. Added: in today’s game, most of the fives that have the ball – he mentioned [Nikola] Jokic and [Joel] Embiid – are on the perimeter a lot anyways.”
It's understandable why Anthony Davis had been hesitant to become a full-time center in the past. While Davis is certainly not a pushover underneath, the physical toll of spending 82 games can be too much for his 6'10, 253-pound frame, especially when he's suffered a myriad of injury problems over the years.
Still, Davis made it known that his preference is to play alongside another big man in the frontcourt, even if he's willing to slide up a position for stretches.
“I trust Coach’s decision. I mean, I’m pretty sure he heard AD wants to play the 4, so he knows where I stand, but at the end of the day, I want to win, so if that’s me playing the 5, that’s what it’s got to be,” Davis said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
The Lakers have Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant as centers who could provide different skillsets lining up next to Davis. Jones ended last season with the Sacramento Kings on a tear, showing his potential as one of the best shot-blocking bigs in the league, while Bryant has always been capable of stretching the floor with his three-point shot.
Nonetheless, there's no doubt that Darvin Ham's best lineup will end up including Anthony Davis at the five, and the only question now is for how many minutes can AD hold up at that position without running into his old enemy: injuries.
