The glitziest franchise in the NBA, the one that throughout history has subsisted most on individual, transcendent, cinematic talent, is suddenly paving its way back to relevance with a collection of diamonds in the rough.
The next Kobe Bryant, it turns out, is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. KCP embodies these post-Bryant Lakers: a little unrefined, but living on length, and unafraid to occasionally brush with stardom – the emphasis on occasionally.
Caldwell-Pope isn’t the Lakers’ future, though, although he may stick around. The future is Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, a sprinkling of Larry Nance Jr, and possibly, depending on the week, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson.
At times Randle looks like the best sort of monster. He’s got stronger over the off-season, now a figure of momentum and immensity rolling to the rim. He bulldozes down the lane with subtle grace and obvious conviction, strong enough to absorb contact and finish the way he wants to without being knocked off balance.
He’s a wonderful passer, a force in transition, and the rare, special big man that can defend star guards on switches without being made to look a fool.
When Randle is ‘on’, the Lakers become the best version of themselves. Randle’s intensity and ‘on-ness’ were the driving force behind their two best victories of the year – the national TV triumphs over the Wizards and Sixers.
And yet, there are entire quarters when you forget he’s on the court, where he looks disinterested, floating into the basketball ether of wasted talent. He is, though, surely too great of a talent to let go in the summer.
Incredibly, the two ‘surest bet’ Lakers seem to be Ingram and Kuzma. A few months ago, Ingram was only an idea of a good player and Kuzma was a 27th pick in the draft. Fast forward and now both are highly capable 16+ PPG scorers, gazelles who feast at the rim, clean the glass, and add a feathery touch.
(AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kuzma is a revelation, a lean body accelerating to the rim as though magnetised to it. He has hops as well as real pace, and when he lays it in, he always seems to still be ascending.
Ingram is not quite as graceful or effortless, but he is more interesting. He is the better passer and more nuanced talent, a player with gears, and many still to be unlocked. He is the most tantalising talent on the roster, and the one, you suspect, with the greatest chance of becoming a star.
That player was supposed to be Ball, and it might still be. But the saviour is looking more like Ricky Rubio. Ball will endure in the NBA – his athleticism, vision, passing and rebounding mean that he will find a way to help teams win. But there is a defined ceiling on guards who cannot score at will, let alone score efficiently. At the moment, nothing on the scoring front is at will for Ball – everything is ‘against will’.
He looks petrified out there, the lines perpetually blurred between selflessness and fear. He has no inclination to score, and no idea how to. Even his collapsing-the-defence assist to set-up Ingram’s game-winner against the Sixers was the product of hesitation when the trigger needed to be pulled.
Barring you-know-who arriving in free agency, to extend the L.A. ceiling to somewhere meaningful, that trigger will have to be pulled. Right now this is a ‘nice’ team with ‘interesting’ pieces. But Ball is the hinge upon which the future will turn, and as talented as Ingram, Kuzma and Randle are, the next few years for the Lakers will be seen through the prism of Lonzo and his strange release.
Swampy
Guest
His advanced stats aren't setting the world on fire either. I've watched probably 5 lakers games and I would be most concerned with how ineffective lonzo becomes with a bigger defender on him - he can't seem to beat these types off the dribble which suggests his handle and footspeed is average. When he is pressured by a faster guard he very quickly gives up the ball further showing a lack of confidence in his handle. You can't make your team mates better if you don't want the ball and can't be a threat without it. I think he'll get better with strength and conditioning and be a good nba player. But I'm not sure he's a starter for the time being. He's at this point in time well below Simmons, Mitchell, Taytum, Smith Jr, Kuzma, Markinnen. But he's got good company with Fox, Monk, Jackson and Fultz all below expectations.
OJBUCKETS
Guest
Again...very easy to simply point out these poor shooting stats. im not trying to defend his shooting thus far, i get it, has been putrid. Whilst he shot much better at college he was never pegged as a high level NBA scorer. He was projected to be an elite rebounder for his position and facilitator who makes his teammates better. which he has proved he will be/already is in 25 games. IF you have watched every game in full not just the boxscore you would surely agree. ill revisit this post come all rookie team naming;)
astro
Guest
Sorry, but Jay has every right to ask questions about Lonzo... It's easy to say that all Lonzo need do is become an 'average scorer/shooter', but the reality is, he has a long way to go before becoming 'average', and history tells us poor shooters tend to remain as poor shooters throughout their career. And let's not pretend that Lonzo isn't a poor shooter...Lonzo's shooting % as a rookie, is currently the 5th-worst since 1979, and as a spot-up shooter, he's making 24%...only Marcus Smart and T.J. Warren are worse this season. Even his FT shooting is poor. Lonzo's NBA.com shot zone chart is a sea of red: http://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=3&CFID=33&CFPARAMS=2017-18&PlayerID=1628366&ContextMeasure=FGA&Season=2017-18§ion=player&sct=zone Bottom line, most Laker fans would have to agree, that out of Kuzma, Ingram and Lonzo, Lonzo is the 'weak link' and the one to worry about going forward...Its great that he's finding other ways to contribute (eg. rebounding etc), but the Lakers don't need a PG who rebounds as much as they need a PG who scores.
Old School
Roar Rookie
He didn't say Ball was the weak link, infact he said Ball, Ingram and Kuzma were the future. There's no doubting Ball is athletic, but his shooting percentages are terrible, like worst in the NBA terrible - FG 32.1%, 3P 24.6%, FT 47.1%. This is way worse than his college shooting form but should improve over time. Other poor shooters like Rondo or Rubio have still had excellent careers, just don't expect him to make the all rookie first team...lock him in for the second team ;)
kingcowboy
Guest
Lakers are years away from doing anything. Magic will be gone within three years. Danny Ainge is a genius, took the best player in the draft n also picked up Lakers/kings pick.
Machooka
Roar Guru
Thanks Jay for a little spotlight action on unreal La La Land... and deservedly so methinks. I was never big on the whole Ball hype but more fascinated by the others, who were to join him on the roster, and what they could do, could do together, together as a team do. So far Ball ain't balling but Ingram, Kuzma, and Kentavious (love the name) Caldwell-Pope are most certainly balling. Then there's the other usual suspects... really interesting days ahead for this franchise. And their coach.
OJBUCKETS
Guest
Very happy to see a LAL themed post here, and agree wholeheartedly that Ingram has the highest upside and Randle needs to be seriously considered as a long term piece (after believing 100% he would be gone in the off season) But.... to suggest Lonzo is looking like the weak link here and has no future is foolish and simply incorrect.. he is currently: 1st in rookie guards for blocks, 2nd in all rookies assists, 3rd in all rookies steals, 4th in all rookies rebounds. 1 of 4 players averaging at least 8-7-6 with LBJ, Draymond and Simmons the other three. No doubt his scoring needs improvement but if he simply becomes a league average scorer/shooter and keeps the rest up, he will be top 5 PG. Easy to throw shade due to the hype he has, just look at the facts before pointing out one easy to bash statistic. I Suppose Ben simmons is excused for the fact he literally can not shoot the basketball because his physical gifts allow for easier points at this stage in his career? (this is from a life long laker fan who had no interest in LB prior to the draft and would have been happy with any of the other top 5 draft picks on the team)
Tom Clarke
Roar Pro
Brandon Ingram is one of the most interesting young guys in the league right now. Not as fully developed as Simmons or Embiid, but with a higher potential ceiling than Ball. Even if he never becomes Durant 2.0, Ingram looks like he could still maybe be an All-NBA talent one day.