While head coach JJ Redick tried to play coy about not giving much thought to his starting lineup heading into training camp, the Lakers realistically have four of the five spots accounted for. LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton will all start for fairly obvious reasons, leaving one spot remaining.

Over recent years, Rui Hachimura has held down the fifth roster spot. However, his defensive limitations and the arrival of Marcus Smart have led many fans to wonder if he would be a better fit alongside Luka and Reaves.

Naturally, that was a talking point at media day on Monday, and Smart and Rui had two pretty different tones to their answers.

For Smart, the veteran in the league, he was adamant that it did not matter if he was in the starting lineup.

“I’m here to w

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