Lakers Youth Shines Bright
The Lakers find themselves in the midst of mediocrity. At 14–52, they are close to breaking last year’s franchise worst record of 21–61. Doubt remains in the Lakers’ ability to sign free agents after striking out during previous few years. They are officially parting ways with retiring franchise icon Kobe Bryant after 20 seasons together.
Change is coming to Los Angeles. The Lakers have been used to winning with Bryant. Those plans were derailed when the Dwight Howard saga ended with the center signing with Houston. They were left with Kobe Bryant coming off of a torn achilles and Pau Gasol, ready to leave after years of trade rumors. Gasol eventually left to Chicago, the move that most likely signaled that the good times were over. Draft picks were deleted after the Steve Nash trade that didn’t work out for either side. Throw in a few fired coaches and you have the complete recipe of chaos.
The Lakers found hope through despair. The Lakers selected Julius Randle out of Kentucky with the 7th overall pick in the 2014 draft. Randle had high expectations on him to show that he can be vital in turning the team around. He found himself out for the season after injuring his leg during the season opener, he only played 19 minutes. Julius Randle is now a double-double machine in his sophomore season. He is currently 14th in the NBA with 28 double-doubles (leads all sophomores) on the season. The 21-year-old had a rough start but is showing the grit to rack up rebounds and be an imposing presence in the paint.
The Lakers were set back when they lost Randle, but found a valuable piece in Jordan Clarkson. The 2nd-round pick purchased from the Washington Wizards for cash ended up being the steal of the draft. The Missouri guard revitalized the Lakers in the second half of the season and took first team All-Rookie honors, becoming the fifth 2nd-rounder to ever do so. He has made the move to shooting guard in 2016, showing an improved shot and more comfort in driving to the basket. Clarkson remains one of the more valuable young guards in the association.
Forced to give up their lottery pick if they pick outside of the top five, Los Angeles could consider the 2014 season a waste if they didn’t keep it. The lottery balls worked out in their favor, they had the No. 2 overall pick. General consensus was that Karl Anthony Towns would and did become the first overall pick, the debate came after. Would the Lakers select Jahlil Okafor, a center with massive potential? The pick would fall in line with the franchises love affair with big men. This would not be the case, with the franchise maybe swayed by Kobe Bryant retiring. The Lakers selected point guard D’Angelo Russell out of Ohio State. This showed a preference towards modern basketball, a current era where guards are just guards and forwards can play every other position. The big man isn’t dying out, just evolving. Centers like Okafor are rarely a desire today’s basketball, one that prefers forwards that can size up to the center position and keep game speed at an absolute high.
Russell didn’t break out for Los Angeles in the first half of the 2015–2016 season, surprisingly, his biggest obstacle was his own coach. Byron Scott showed an unusually new toughness on his young point guard that wasn’t prevalent during his tenures with Chris Paul or Kyrie Irving. Russell was benched early and given little reason as to why and was even benched for trying to take over a game. The leash on the rookie was tight, but it didn’t help either side that his own coach would be his biggest critic. Russell has recently come alive after being made starter again, building on solid performances that led to a 39-point breakout performance in which Russell proclaimed to the world, “I have ice in my veins”. The rookie has a long way to go, but it is hard to ignore the signs that he is a superstar in the making.
The Lakers have a bright future ahead of them, there will be a need to make the right decision on a few fronts, coaching is the first to come to mind. Los Angeles will have the most cap room available heading into the free agent market with the possibility that they retain their pick if it falls in the top three. They also have youngster Larry Nance, Jr, son of the winner of the first NBA dunk contest. Nance is someone who may very well be the steal of the 2015 draft. The Lakers showed that they are a bad team this year, no doubt about that. There is a huge difference between this season and last, the Lakers don’t have much uncertainty. They know what their young core brings them, and they are excited to see what they can bring.
