LeBron James and Anthony Davis are playing important roles for Team USA, they just may not be the same ones they’ll play for the Lakers and JJ Redick next season.
Of all the reasons to be excited about LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing for Team USA this summer, one, in particular, rose above the rest for me.
Sure, a gold medal for both would be great. And, yes, the experience of playing with some of the league’s other great players — and the opportunity to potentially plant some of those sweet tampering seeds — piqued my interest. But, no, it was something else that I was most looking forward to.
You see, after JJ Redick was named the Lakers head coach, the thing I knew the Lakers stars would need would be reps in how their new head coach would want them to play, particularly on offense. And, since neither player was going to drop everything for a crash course on Redick’s tactics and schemes, I thought there was no better way for them to get some much needed exposure to a style that would at least be similar to what their new coach would deploy than playing for Steve Kerr and Team USA at the Olympics.
While I’m not entirely certain Redick will be a similar coach to Kerr in temperament, thoughtfulness or general approach to game management, one thing I have deduced is that Redick’s vision of 5-out offense will look more like Kerr’s version with the Warriors than the style the Lakers ran under Darvin Ham last season.
And, with that, I was eager to see how both Bron and AD would be used under Kerr for Team USA, with a strong hope — or, even, belief — that this run in the Olympics could serve as a test kitchen of sorts for the recipes both stars could later cook up with Redick during the Lakers regular season.
That, however, could not be further from the truth.
After an undefeated five-game exhibition run in the lead-up to the Olympics and then a 2-0 start in the Paris games with wins over Serbia and South Sudan, I would argue that the style of play and the roles both Bron and AD are being deployed in for the American superteam are pretty far from what we should anticipate them playing for their NBA squad — at least from what Redick has hinted at in his media appearances since being hired as well as what was reported coming out of the interview process that led to his hire.
For example, The Athletic’s Shams Charania detailed how Redick’s offensive system would reportedly incorporate his two superstars and how the roles he envisioned might not align with what we’d seen from those two in previous seasons:
“Redick described a system molded around this roster, focusing on elevating Anthony Davis’ involvement, particularly late in games, and alleviating the constant ball-handling duties on James by utilizing him more off the ball. Keeping James, who turns 40 in December, fresh down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs will be critical.”
Sourced reporting is one thing, but Redick himself has not shied away from saying similar things on the record, particularly about AD’s involvement offensively and how he envisions his big man’s role expanding:
“Anthony and I already had a conversation a week ago about some ideas both offensively and defensively. I think both of us felt really comfortable going forward with that sort of as the base starting point of how he’s going to play on this team. One of the things I brought up with him is just the idea of him as a hub. There’s a bunch of guys at the five position in the NBA that sort of operate in that way. I don’t know that he’s been used in that way and maximize all of us abilities.”
Kerr, though, has not gone along with this sort of deployment, as much as I would have liked him to.
Rather than being more of an off-ball player, LeBron has essentially been Team USA’s point guard and primary ball-handler. During most of his time on the court, LeBron is often in the middle of the action of every half-court possession, either as the main offensive initiator or the guy who gets the ball late in the clock with the expectation of creating a shot.
LeBron has thrived in this role, not only setting up his teammates for easy shots but serving as a crunch-time juggernaut whose ability to get downhill with both power and quickness has allowed him to close out opponents as the primary offensive hub. In other words, LeBron has been the same on-ball threat he’s been his entire career.
That’s just not how Redick reportedly sees LeBron operating as often next season.
As for AD, he barely resembles the high-usage offensive finisher he’s been his entire career, and even less like a “hub” player who is getting a lot of chances to play with the ball in his hands while the offense swirls around him with cuts and screens.
Sure, AD is getting some chances to handle the ball in “delay” sets where the ball reverses through him at the top of the floor, but he’s not getting many post chances and his offensive usage is almost entirely dependent on diving to the rim out of pick-and-rolls, receiving dump-off passes when his teammates drive to the paint, or by going to the offensive glass and getting put-backs.
Much like LeBron is while playing on the ball, AD is thriving in this sort of role, looking like a throwback to his lone season at the University of Kentucky where he won a national championship and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as a defensive wrecking ball and rebounding monster whose offensive output was not how he best contributed to winning. Playing with this super-talented offensive group, he can put much more into the defensive side of the ball and is again reminding folks of the terror he can be on that end of the floor.
In these respective roles, both Lakers stars have positioned themselves as two of the most impactful players on Team USA and have taken on vital roles for Kerr, closing out close games and getting called on during the most critical possessions. Further, these are the types of familiar roles to what they’ve had at points in their careers, which is likely why they’re finding so much success with them.
But they aren’t quite the roles they’re expected to have donning the purple and gold in a few months time.
In other words, even though Kerr is leaning on LeBron and AD just as Redick will when the NBA season begins in a few months, this hasn’t necessarily been a preview of Redick’s offense to come next season — or at least not how LeBron and AD could be expected to to be slotted into it.
That said, none of his has taken away any of the fun of watching them lead Team USA to success. If nothing else, it has reminded us all of both players’ versatility and greatness and why Redick should have no issues in having them adapt when the NBA season begins anew in October.
You can follow Darius on Twitter at @forumbluegold.
