Hello guys, I've been around for quite a while already and have seen that this offseason there's a lot of people who don't really understand that they are complaining about the wrong thinhs (at least in my opinion, taking into account advanced stats and eye test) in regards to the roster, so I wanted to clear up some of those misconceptions:
1 - Luka and Austin as your backcourt don't fit together (on D):
In a vacuum, one can see this and kind of agree, Luka isn't a great defender and despite Austin being severely underrated there, he's not great either as a 1-1 defender, but this is where a huge misconception come in:
Luka isn't part of our backcourt, he's closer to being our SF (again, on D).
He's 6'8 and even in Dallas he never was a "guard", his role has always been the same as Bron's or Rui's, he's a helper on defense, as a chaser (chase shooters around offball) or a POA (1-1 defense against the ball handler) he's simply unable to keep up.
So the issue isn't Austin and Luka as much as it is having 3 forwards starting, I'd personally bench Rui
2 - 30m is a lot of money for Austin
One can like or dislike Austin however much they want to, but considering the season he just had, statistically surpassing guys like Fox, Bane or Herro, and taking into consideration that that the max deal rn hovers about 50m+...
30m for Austin who's elite on O and okay on D (he's not a POA defender, but as a chaser he's actually been a +) isn't a bad deal whatsoever, it's like paying Desmond Bane 30m and complaining about it
3 - Lakers need a bench scorer like Monk
It's well known that the Lakers bench sucks on offense, being at the bottom of the league in scoring, but the needs that the team as a whole has go far beyond just needing a scorer.
Adding Monk to the roster is like trying to put out an oil fire with water, you'll only make the problems worse, the Lakers starting 5 (with Rui for now) is composed of 3 13ppg+ scorers, 3 of which surpass 20ppg, so our bench doesn't need to have elite offense as much as we need that bench to have guys like DFS, who averaged about 8ppg but also gave us good defense.
We don't need someone who comes into the game, averages 15ppg but will be horrible on defense, but a couple of guy that will drop 8-12ppg and also be really good on defense. Guys like Ayo Dosunmu and Ochai Agbaji would be 10x more valuable for us than Monk, CJ MCollum (buyout), etc will ever be.
You want to protect your starters, not add unto their weaknesses.
4 - Austin should come off the bench to address the bench scoring and the defense in the starting 5
As said above, Luka as a helper with Austin as a chaser is a more than good enough lineup on both sides, the problems don't arise because of Austin as much as it is due to not having a POA defender starting.
Plus, starting someone doesn't mean they won't lead 2nd units, and teams aren't stupid, if you bench AR they'll still put the same guys against him once he's on the floor, this isn't 2k
Benching AR will only lead to him leaving in the offseason, as you'll make him lose money* and will make him feel insulted.
*(teams don't usually pay 6th men as they'd do starters)
5 - Ayton sucks on defense
Not much to say here other than advanced stats say he's actually really solid, specially on the perimeter where he's among the best in the league among centers. Also adding a 12rpg guy like him will improve the defense a lot even if there's truly some concerns around his defense.
I know this is mainly about Austin but he's the main target of the things I've read online
Did I forget anything? If anyone wants to add something I can always edit this and add that point.