Lakers Training Camp Notes: Day Three

EL SEGUNDO, CA – SEPTEMBER 27: JaVale McGee #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers smiles during media day on September 27, 2019 at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)

The third day of Lakers training camp has finished up and everyone is still getting a feel for the team. Vogel said on day one that the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis would rotate. That’s been the case as today we got to see other players played in the first unit. Today we’ll be talking about different positional battles, rest for some veterans, and a bit on SB 206.

Positional Battles

As mentioned before, two positions that seem open-ended right now. The center position is still being decided between Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee. Here’s what the king had to say about the two bigs (h/t Harrison Faigen).

It’s interesting how two players that play the same position are standing out. Speculation early on has been McGee as handling most of the minutes at the center position with Dwight playing the second-most, and Davis playing the rest. If (and this is a big IF), Howard can resemble close to what he was, that can be a huge boost for the Lakers. His last full season with Charlotte in which he played 81 games, he quietly averaged 16.6/12.5/1.6.

Another positional battle to keep an eye on is who plays the point guard position. Rajon Rondo played with the first team on day one. Bradley played with the first unit on day two and received “rave reviews”.  Bradley is more of a shooter than Rondo and traditionally played more shooting guard than point. With LeBron being the primary ball-handler, Bradley can slot in with Danny Green to make a formidable backcourt three and D duo.

Rest for a king

Jared Dudley and James both sat out of practice today. Both players, who are in their mid-thirties, are not quite as durable as they once were during their younger years. Fans can expect neither of those players to play all eighty-two games this season just based on the load management they would require.  As important as the regular season is, the main goal should also focus on keeping everyone healthy in a hopeful playoff run.

Kyle Kuzma also was held out due to his foot injury. This did not stop the third-year forward from getting some shots up. It appears as though he isn’t allowed to put too much weight through his foot as evident by the Harden-esque form.

SB 206

California Governor Gavin Newsom appeared on The Shop last night and signed SB 206, the “Fair Pay to Play” act. We have a more in-depth post here. Here’s what the coach and players had to say about it.

Frank Vogel spent time as a college student at the University of Kentucky. His response?

“It’s about time”.

Vogel would talk about how during his time at UK, players would have to do manual labor after their eligibility was up.

Kyle Kuzma spoke about how he’s interested to see how this bill would affect athletes around the country.

Last but not least, James gave some insight on what he thought about the bill, talking about what would have happened if he played in college.

Stay updated with Lakers Outsiders as we’ll have more on Lakers Training Camp as we ramp up for the preseason.

Author: Kendrew

The Filipino guy

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