While the Lakers are less than a month out from training camp, they’re still working out players. Keith Appling is already signed to training camp. Jeremy Lin is doing his workouts in Dallas. Jordan Clarkson excelled during the Vegas Pro League.
They’re not done looking at the point guard slot.
"Free agent Julyan Stone will work out for the Lakers in Los Angeles this week, his second visit with the organization before meeting three other teams, league sources told RealGM. Via Shams Charania/RealGM"
The Lakers had shown interest in Julyan Stone before, dating back to the 2011 draft. Draftexpress.com lists him at 6’5.5″ with a 6’10” wingspan, with solid defensive ability and effort. His lack of perimeter consistency has kept him on the bench. Like DeAndre Kane, who also played for the Lakers’ Vegas Pro League team, he’s also 25 years of age.
Draftexpress did an a great breakdown of the point guard crop of 2011. Julyan Stone does not project as an NBA scorer, nor is he assertive with 3-point shooting or drawing fouls. The point guard breakdown of 2011 can be found in this link.
What Julyan Stone can do is fill a stat sheet. During his last year at UTEP, he averaged 8.5 points per game on 4.3 field goal attempts. More importantly, he averaged 7.5 rebounds per game and 5.3 assists per game with just 1.9 turnovers per game in over 36 minutes of play. He is the definition of a ball distributor. His field goal percentage of 59.6% in two-point range with 51% overall from the field drew in NBA attention during his senior year.
The addition of Julyan Stone would add defensive versatility between three positions. Ideally, the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward can all switch as necessary. Do you think he can become a post-injury Ron Harper-type for the Lakers? Do you think the Lakers need his kind of talent on the team? Should they look elsewhere?
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