The struggling 29-39 Lakers, winners of just two of their last ten games, are looking to the future, encouraged by the development of some of their youngsters, writes Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register.
Though the Los Angeles front office mostly opted to build its new-look roster around older veterans this summer, a handful of younger role players have emerged around 37-year-old All-Star forward LeBron James this season.
24-year-old guard Malik Monk and 23-year-old rookie wing Austin Reaves, alongside 25-year-old forward Stanley Johnson, have emerged as three of the Lakers’ more reliable players who may have yet to hit their ceilings. 21-year-old swingman Talen Horton-Tucker remains an intriguing option as well, though he has underperformed relative to his new three-year, $32MM contract this season.
“They’ve continued to improve and get better and more comfortable in our system, in our environment,” head coach Frank Vogel said of the Lakers’ youth movement. “Malik, Austin and Talen. That trio is another reason amongst others why I believe we have a chance.”
There’s more out of California:
- The NBA has fined Kings big man Richaun Holmes to the tune of $25K after he threw a basketball into the crowd during a 134-125 loss to the Jazz on March 12, per a league press release (Twitter link). Holmes was ejected from the game at the time of the incident. It shouldn’t make too big of a dent in his wallet — the 28-year-old is in the first season of a lucrative new four-year, $46.5MM contract he signed with Sacramento during the 2021 offseason.
- Despite being inactive for the last 30 Warriors contests this season due to a nagging back injury, All-Star power forward Draymond Green remains convinced he can still win his second Defensive Player of the Year Award this season, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Yeah, I’ve seen guys win with not many more games than I’m gonna play,” Green said. “I don’t know what league everybody else has been watching, but I have not seen anyone solidify themselves as Defensive Player of the Year.” Johnson notes that, should Green be available for all 13 remaining Warriors games during the 2021/22 regular season, he will only have suited up for 48 total this year.
- With a 36-35 record, the eighth-seeded Clippers are six games behind the sixth-seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference. L.A. has just 11 games left on its regular season slate. The team has little to no chance of avoiding the play-in tournament at this point of the year, barring a collapse from both the Nuggets and the 40-30 seventh seed, the Timberwolves. The team is also a whopping 5.5 games ahead of the ninth-seeded Lakers. Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register examines how the Clippers intend to operate down the home stretch of the season given the reality of their seeding. “We’ll get a chance to experiment with our small lineup, which we gotta get better at once we get everyone healthy and get everyone back and then kinda see how that plays out,“ head coach Tyronn Lue said. Lue also intends to work through after-timeout plays, with an emphasis on helping shooting guard Luke Kennard improve his timing off screens.
Draymond’s not wrong… but hard to give to a player that played less than 50 games
But he was clearly the best defensive player this season.
Draymond is the best defensive player I have ever seen. His ability to defend 1-5 and affect the other team is unparalleled
Hard to be the best when your not playing.
Monk is a free agent
Tht has played himself underwater
Stanley is a situational pawn
Reaves however looks excellent, especially w LBJ .
Hard to make a sunny article outta the Lakers but the Orange County Register never fails to try
The Lakers are looking forward to the development of…Stanley Johnson?
What?
I think D.P.O.Y. goes to Embiid as a consolation prize when Jokic wins M.V.P.
Lakers future is going to be ugly for a long time, nice try.
” encouraged by the development of some of their youngsters”……. this has to be a joke, right? the only player that was considered a good prospect (by a lot of Lakers fans and the media) is THT and he underperformed big time. I like AR but its not an important piece by any means.
The Lakers season its a total mess and a major loss for everybody, the only bright spot is that LBJ can still play at a high lvl at this age, so probably he should be still a top 10 player next season.
Draymond, who cares?! Just win another title !!
When asked to comment on taking the floor for the Lakers this season, MONK reportedly responded, “It’s a jungle out there”.
Dray is washed up.