Los Angeles Lakers Rumors: Roy Hibbert to Head the Defense?

The Los Angeles Lakers' defense was one of the worst ones in the league last season and Roy Hibbert is ready to change that.

According to Bill Oram of The Orange County Register, Lakers head coach Bryon Scott believes that Hibbert, 28, can help improve the Lakers defense, which was ranked 29th in the league. When asked how important it was to have a "defensive-minded center," Scott replied stating that he believes Hibbert's mentality will be vital in helping the defense.

"I think first of all it's a mentality. And I think Roy has shown that from Day One. When he's out here, the No. 1 thing is he's a great communicator, which is something we didn't have on the back end of our defense last year," Scott said. "Our No.2, he has a reputation for protecting the rim, so he knows that's his bread and butter. And No. 3, the one thing I saw so far with him is that guys are going in for layups the first day he was like, 'No easy layups.' And that's something we didn't do a good job of last year, is protecting the rim or giving up easy layups. So I think he's bringing that mentality to our young guys and to the rest of the team and I think hat's going to be huge for us."

Hibbert, who is looking to reinvent himself in LA, has talked about being ready to be on defense.

"I just told him [Kobe Bryant], 'I'll be ready on the defensive end to help whatever way I can.' He was all about that. I will say that," Hibbert said reported by the Los Angeles Times.

To help improve his own defensive game, Hibbert has slimmed down in the offseason.

"I've discovered a new nutritionist," Hibbert said on The Popcorn Machine podcast. "It's changed some things up. With how the NBA's moving, everything is faster. That's how Golden State won (the championship). You have to be able to move and have bigs that are agile. When I was with my last team, I kind of wanted to be a big force in the paint to pound people down low. But we really don't do that too much anymore. So I had to change my game a little bit, but not too much."

Hibbert averaged 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds with the Indiana Pacers last season.