The Los Angeles Lakers have made huge roster changes in the offseason in order to be in a position to fight for the NBA championship.
LeBron James is turning 37 in December, and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka went all in this summer to surround his superstar with as much power as possible.
The Lakers traded for former MVP Russell Westbrook to cover the starting point guard position and later added Rajon Rondo as his backup.
Another returnee from the 2020 championship roster is Dwight Howard how will cover the center position alongside former All-NBA first-team center DeAndre Jordan who arrived from Brooklyn.
Trevor Ariza, who was part of the 2010 Lakers champion team and since has become the most traded player in NBA history, also returned to the ‘City of angels’.
LeBron’s long-time buddy Carmelo Anthony joined the team as a free agent after spending two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. Both Melo and LeBron were part of the 2003 draft class and finally got the opportunity to play together.
After all these moves, the Lakers roster seems unbeatable, but there is one issue, their age.
Carmelo Anthony is already 37, with LeBron and Ariza next in line to reach that age. Howard and Rondo are 35, Wayne Ellington 34, Jordan 33 and Kent Bazemore 32.
The Lakers’ average age, calculated on players expected to see the most minutes, will be 31.2 years when the regular season tips off Tuesday and bump to 31.8 by the playoffs, which makes them the oldest roster in the league.
“I don’t think it’ll be a problem at all,” said Ellington who is also a returnee in LA and, who will turn 34 in November but ranks only as the Lakers’ sixth-oldest player.
“I think age is just a number. I feel like we got guys that have been pretty healthy, still moving really well, and even some guys that are playing some of their best basketball right now at this age.”
