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From Pleasant Surprise to Demise: The Los Angeles Lakers’ Misuse of Ryan Kelly

By Daniel Tran

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The Los Angeles Lakers are struggling mightily and a lot of that is due to mismanagement of personnel. Forward Ryan Kelly has been the poster boy of what happens when a player is played out of position.

The Los Angeles Lakers season has been a rough ride for the entire team. Julius Randle was lost before his season really began, Steve Nash never made it out of the tunnel for a regular season game and Kobe Bryant tore a rotator cuff that will keep him out for an extended period of time. Oh, and the team has been losing a lot of games.

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No matter what side of the fence you fall on regarding the tank question, there is no denying that some of the roster decisions made by Lakers head coach Byron Scott have been head-scratching to say the least. No roster move has made less sense than moving Ryan Kelly from the power forward position to the small forward spot.

When Ryan Kelly was drafted out of Duke in the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft, a good portion of Lakers fans were skeptical on whether the 6’11 forward would have the athleticism to compete at the pro level. Kelly was coming off foot surgery to alleviate complications stemming from a previous surgery, which did not help resolve doubts about his ability to play in the NBA.

What did resolve those doubts was actually showing people that he could play in the league. During his rookie campaign, Kelly was able to average 8.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 22.2 minutes of play. In 17 of his 59 games, he scored double digits, which is not star quality, but in terms of being a solid power forward that can stretch the floor and rebound the ball, he showed promise.

Ryan also proved to be a surprising playmaker, showing decent vision and had an eight game stretch where he had at least two assists. There were also two games last season where he was able to tally eight assists in a game. Kelly proved by the end of the season that he was a piece that the Lakers could develop and utilize.

However, the injury bug struck once again for Kelly. The beginning of this season was a struggle as he dealt with two hamstring injuries, which kept him off the court for most of the preseason. He then aggravated the injury when he tried to comeback near the beginning of the regular season.

Fortunately, he was able to get back on track and has been able to play 17 of the last 18 available games, starting nine of those. Unfortunately, the games that he has started feature him at the small forward position and not his more traditional power forward slot.

Though Kelly proved that he could at least stay in front of power forwards, asking him to defend small forwards, who are at times the most athletic players on their respective teams, is not fair. Kelly has done his best in a bad situation, but the results have hardly been fantastic.

On defense, Kelly has shown a surprising amount of energy and determination. Overall, his opponents shoot 38.4 percent from the field when he is guarding them, which is 6.6 percent worse than their overall field goal percentage otherwise. Watching him play on defense, Kelly is rarely out of position and closes out on shooters well. Though he has shown a lot of effort on that end of the court, fatigue sets in when he is trying to keep up with quicker forwards, which affects his output on offense.

When put in the starting lineup, Kelly is averaging 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists even though he is receiving 23.8 minutes. A lot of that is a result of Byron Scott asking him to hang around the three-point line more, which takes away from his opportunities to get in position for rebounds and easy points on the inside.

Kelly’s field goal percentage is at an anemic 28.1 percent when he is a starter with 43.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Relegating Kelly to the perimeter is taking away the versatility he showed last year and it is hurting the Lakers.

Out of position, Kelly has been thrust into a situation that benefits no one but the front office, which needs the Lakers to struggle for the team to secure a top-five pick in this year’s draft. The mistreatment of Kelly’s game has been inexplicable and it is unfair that his development has to take a step back due to a scenario he had no control over.

But as the tank continues to roll on for the Lakers, all Kelly can do is grit his teeth and join the rest of the Lakers and their fans in waiting for next season.

Next: Backcourt of Clarkson, Ellington, and Lin show promise

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