Lakers Fantasy Basketball Outlook: LeBron James, Anthony Davis and More
The Los Angeles Lakers decided that their late season push and deep postseason run was enough to bring back pretty much the same rotation players.
Let’s take a look at which guys might have the biggest impact on the upcoming season and then list their Average Draft Positions (ADP) and determine if you should be drafting them at that spot or not.
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LeBron James Fantasy Outlook
The Lakers’ success will be directly tied to James, who is entering his 21st season. Despite nearing age 40, James hasn’t slowed down on the court.
James played in 55 games a season ago, averaging 35.5 minutes, 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks. James shot 50% from the floor, 32.1% from behind the 3-point line and 76.8% on his free throws.
If he’s not able to be the dominant scorer he has been, James can make up for it with assists and rebounds.
The veteran isn’t consistently as dominant as he once was, but he’s still one of the best players in the game and there’s really no reason to believe he’ll slow down anytime soon. The only concerning trend is his games played, as he’s been under 60 games four times in the past five seasons.
James has an ADP of 10 in head-to-head scoring leagues and is 18th in category/roto leagues.
Anthony Davis Fantasy Outlook
Davis turned in one of his better seasons in recent memory last year. He also played in 56 contests, which was his most in four years.
Davis averaged 34 minutes, 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 2 blocks. He shot a career-high 56.3% from the floor, while also going 25.7% on his 3-pointers and 78.4% on his free throws.
As James starts to wind down his career, Davis might be asked to take on more of the scoring load, which should be a welcomed sight for fantasy owners. He’s going to remain a strong rebounder and defender for the next several years as well.
Like James, Davis’ biggest knock is injuries and games played. Last year was a step in the right direction, so maybe the Lakers now have a better idea on what steps to take to keep him on the floor consistently.
Davis has an ADP of 17 in H2H leagues and 15 in category/roto leagues.
D’Angelo Russell Fantasy Outlook
After starting his career in Los Angeles, Russell was traded back to the Lakers last season. He played 17 games with LA and 54 more with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Overall, Russell averaged 32.5 minutes, 17.8 points, 6.2 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 0.4 blocks a contest. He shot 46.9% overall, the best mark of his career by far. His 3-point percentage of 39.6 and free-throw mark of 82.9 were also career bests.
His improved play will now allow him to serve as the team’s starting point guard. Scoring opportunities behind James and Davis might be a bit limited, but those two also draw a lot of defensive attention, so Russell should still have the chance for plenty of open looks.
Russell has an ADP of 81 in H2H leagues and 97 in category/roto leagues.
Austin Reaves Fantasy Outlook
Reaves was one of the most-improved players in the league last season. He nearly doubled his scoring output and assist numbers while shooting a much better percentage.
Reaves ended up playing in 64 games, with 22 starts. He averaged 28.8 minutes, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks. Reaves shot 52.9% overall, 39.8% on 3-pointers and 86.4% at the free-throw line.
Reaves appears poised to start this season, which gives the Lakers another solid scoring threat. I could see Reaves moving back to a top reserve role if he isn’t able to provide the scoring punch alongside James and Davis while in the starting lineup. Whatever role Reaves fills, producing again at last year’s marks should have bim averaging around 30 minutes a contest.
Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt Fantasy Outlook
The Lakers’ fifth starting spot will likely go to either Hachimura or Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt was traded to Los Angeles last season and ended up starting 24 of the 26 games he played in with the team. He played 52 games and started 41 of them with the Utah Jazz earlier in the season.
Overall, Vanderbilt averaged 24.1 minutes a contest. He also posted averages of 7.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks. Vanderbilt shot an efficient 54.8% from the floor overall, was 32.2% on 3-pointers and 69.1% on his free throws.
Hachimura was also traded to Los Angeles during the last season. He played 33 games with the Lakers, starting nine, and 30 games with the Washington Wizards, all off the bench.
Overall, Hachimura averaged 23.3 minutes, 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.4 blocks a contest. He shot 48.6% overall, 31.9% from deep and 73.9% on his free throws.
I’d guess that the Lakers start both players during the course of the season, seeing how the team performs in each instance. For fantasy purposes, I’d like whatever guy comes off the bench, as they won’t be playing as much with guys like James, Davis, Russell and Reaves, which opens more scoring opportunities.
Neither player is all that big a scorer, so for them to be the best fantasy assets possible, they need to be efficient scorers and help out in other areas of the box score.
Other Lakers to Consider
In category/roto leagues, the only other Laker with an ADP is Christian Wood (126). Wood is 109th in H2H leagues, while Gabe Vincent is 241st.
After not accomplishing much in the first few years of his NBA career, Wood has become a pretty solid big man and a viable fantasy asset over the past four years. He played with the Dallas Mavericks last season, playing in 67 games, starting 17 and averaging 25.9 minutes a contest.
Wood also averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.4 steals and 1.1 blocks. He shot 51.5% from the field, 37.6% from deep and 77.2% at the free-throw line.
Vincent spent the first four years of his NBA career with the Miami Heat. A season ago, Vincent started half of the 68 games he played in and averaged 25.9 minutes a contest.
Vincent finished with averages of 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.1 blocks. He shot 40.2% from the field, 33.4% from deep and 87.2% at the line.
Wood and Vincent should function as two of the Lakers’ top reserves for the season, getting the occasional start when a player is banged up. Both should have the chance to average double digit points as they’ll be on the court oftentimes with the team’s top-scoring options. Wood will also provide some rebounds to boost his fantasy value. We’d like to see Vincent average a few more assists to boost his fantasy stock some more.
Who Should You Draft?
The Lakers have plenty of fantasy assets on their roster for the upcoming season. Some other players will factor into the rotation throughout the season, and the team will undoubtedly shakeup its roster at some point, but at least for the start of the season, the eight players we’ve discussed should do most of the heavy lifting.
James will again lead the team and put up great numbers overall. Seeing the trend in games played over the past few seasons though, I’d actually prefer to not draft James 10th overall in H2H leagues. Getting him somewhere between 12-15 in most formats would make me feel much better.
Davis is another player I’d like to wait a couple extra picks on given how many games on average he’s played over his career. Getting him closer to 20th in most formats is how I’d proceed.
The debate between Russell and Reaves is a tough one. It’s easier in dynasty leagues where you simply take the younger Reaves, but in redraft leagues, they are pretty even. Russell fills out the stat sheet a touch better, so I’d lean toward taking him before Reaves. I think their ADPs are both pretty safe, and would feel comfortable reaching on them a round earlier in all formats.
We’ll talk about Wood next as his ADP tops anyone else we’ve discussed. Even though he’s going to be coming off the bench more often than not, I think Wood offers great value for his ADPs. He’s a guy I wouldn’t mind taking earlier because of the injury issues James and Davis have dealt with these past couple years.
Hachimura and Vanderbilt are also going near each other in drafts. Both should get a similar amount of playing time, with the better player taking on a bigger workload as the season progresses. I think Vanderbilt has the better chance of starting between the two guys, but it’s truly a coin flip when it comes to fantasy purposes, in my opinion. Not knowing who might be the better player between the two, I like drafting them right near their ADPs.
Vincent should be a pretty good scoring threat off the bench, but doesn’t provide a whole lot else - at least in the past. He’s a borderline draftable guy, but guys around him stuff the stat sheet a bit more. I’d probably pass on Vincent, but keep a close eye on him as the season unfolds.
#lakers #lebron-james #anthony-davis #dangelo-russell #austin-reaves #jarred-vanderbilt #christian-wood #rui-hachimura
