The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into training camp with a wide-open forward rotation after losing two starters this summer, and one team insider believes Sandro Mamukelashvili should be first in line for a starting job.
Lakers reporter Ryan Ward said the Georgian forward has shown enough in international play to lock down a front-court spot next to new center Walker Kessler.
“I don’t think the Lakers can go wrong with Mamukelashvili as the starter at the four spot,” Ward said.
“He has shown flashes of his potential… in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. There are other options in the squad, with a more defensive focus, like Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams. Still, Mamukelashvili seems like the smart move right now.”
The Lakers lost LeBron James and Rui Hachimura in free agency, leaving the small forward and power forward spots unsettled. James informed the team in late June that he would play his 24th NBA season elsewhere. Hachimura signed with the Clippers.
That vacuum has turned camp into a competition among several forwards. Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt already know coach JJ Redick’s system. Quentin Grimes arrived as a free agent and brings scoring punch on the wing. Thybulle and Williams offer defense first.
The backcourt and center spots look more settled. Luka Doncic is the starting point guard after winning the scoring title last season at 33.5 points per game. Austin Reaves, coming off a 23.3-point campaign, is expected to start at shooting guard. Kessler, acquired from Utah in a sign-and-trade, is the projected starting center.
Kessler averaged 14.4 points and 10.8 rebounds in five games last season before a shoulder injury ended his year. The Lakers sent unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 plus swap rights to get him.
Mamukelashvili signed a four-year, $52 million deal in July after his best NBA season with Toronto. He averaged 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three.
He has carried that form into the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. Against Montenegro he posted 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Two nights later he scored 22 points with six rebounds and four assists in a win over Portugal.
Those numbers matter because the Lakers need spacing around Doncic. Mamukelashvili can play either forward spot and knock down threes, something the roster lacked at times last year.
Ward’s suggestion would put Mamukelashvili at power forward with LaRavia at small forward, or flip the two. Some projections have Grimes starting on the wing instead. Redick has not named a starting five and has said he will go by how groups work together in camp.
Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard both left in free agency, opening more minutes for Sexton, Grimes and the remaining forwards. Even if Mamukelashvili does not start, he is expected to play a large role off the bench.
The Lakers had hoped to add Jonathan Kuminga but did not land him. That leaves the current group to prove it can fill the production James and Hachimura provided.
Training camp will decide the first five. Doncic remains the focal point. The question is which combination of shooters, defenders and rebounders fits best around him as the Lakers begin the post-James era.
A possible opening depth chart with Mamukelashvili starting would look like this: Doncic at point guard, Reaves at shooting guard, Mamukelashvili at small forward, LaRavia at power forward and Kessler at center, with Sexton, Grimes, Vanderbilt, Thybulle, Williams and Kevon Looney coming off the bench.
Nothing is set until Redick sees the players together. The forward spots remain the biggest question on a roster built to maximize Doncic’s playmaking.
