Sandro Mamukelashvili
Mamukelashvili is Los Angeles's first big off the bench, a shooting and passing backup center behind Walker Kessler, and he has not started in the first six games.
Role
Lakeshowlife (about Oct 27) said Kessler is the only one of the big free-agent signings to start and that Mamukelashvili plays 22.3 minutes a night off the bench. The Lakers opened 4-2, and the opening-night starters were Doncic, Reaves, Thybulle, Williams and Kessler. Kevon Looney is the other backup center, and Redick said before the season that Looney handles traditional backup-five minutes while Mamukelashvili also plays center. Lakeshowlife reported he replaced Looney at backup five against the Clippers. Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt also have minutes in the frontcourt rotation. I did not fetch a live depth chart or a minutes tracker. I found no report on back-to-back rest for him and no usage rate. The reported minutes are an early-season figure.
Optimists see a connector who dribbles, passes and shoots, and say the Lakers lacked that kind of big. Lakeshowlife called him a Lamar Odom type sixth man. After last season in Toronto, where he averaged 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 21.9 minutes while shooting 38.9% from three, the Lakers gave him a four-year, $52 million deal. He will keep getting backup-five minutes whenever Kessler sits, and extra work when starters rest or are injured. The Lakers outscored the Clippers by 22 points with him on the floor in a game Doncic missed.
Skeptics point to defense and the contract. Lakeshowlife called him a below-average rim protector, and the Lakers' non-Kessler minutes are a worry because neither he nor Looney controls the paint well. Redick has not let the contract decide the starting five. Writers have also argued that a bench role may be his best fit. He was shooting 51.3% from the field in a Lakeshowlife piece from about three days ago, and that piece said he was struggling to make shots. Kessler's 30-34 minutes, a Lakeshowlife estimate, cap his center time, and Looney, Vanderbilt and the wings compete for the rest.
Where analysts split
The split is whether he stays a roughly 22-minute bench big or moves into the starting five. A Fox Sports headline said a case for starting him would divide fans. Redick said before the season that the fifth starter could change with the opponent, and that Mamukelashvili could start against a bigger frontcourt. Heavy's preseason projection had Grimes and LaRavia starting, not Mamukelashvili. A second question is how much of his time comes at center versus power forward, since Redick wants more size beside the backup center.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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