They actually need him.
Inconsistent playing time has dogged Davis his entire career. If it wasn't for his quirky beginnings, he wouldn't even be in Los Angeles right now, playing for peanuts and pride.
His role was unclear while with the Raptors. Frontcourt minutes were hard to come by with the Grizzlies. The last four years have yielded more confusion than answers as Davis became something of a per-36-minute phenom who couldn't secure a stable spot in the rotation.
Nothing of the sort stands to complicate Davis' tenure—however brief—with the Lakers. Playing time will have to be earned within a rotation that includes Carlos Boozer, Julius Randle and Jordan Hill, but Davis has on-court chops that fill gaping voids.
Marginalizing him—or burying him on the bench altogether—shouldn't be an option.
Real, Live Defense
As currently constructed, the Lakers aren't built to defend.
Nevermind that the defensively obsessed Byron Scott won't ever say die. The Lakers ranked 28th in defensive efficiency last season, and the talent they've since added and retained doesn't promise improvement, much to Scott's displeasure.
"[We need to be] better on the defensive end," he said, per the Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus. "That's the whole emphasis for this whole preseason, is just each game get better on that end of the floor, not make as many mistakes, do a better job of covering pick-and-roll. It's just the little things that we need to continue to clean up."
Improving—surviving, really—on the defensive end demands a number of different things happen. Though the Lakers are at a point where it's difficult to get any worse, they'll need to depend heavil...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
