3. LA seems to have hit gold with the 2014 Draft
I feel like I’ve written about Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson after the last handful of preseason games, but man these two look good. Randle continued to show how he’s physically ready for the NBA game, banging with Reggie Evans and winning his fair share of the battles. He had a couple and-ones, continued to knock down the mid-range jumper, and the game seems to be coming to him nicely.
Clarkson had arguably his best game of the preseason, finishing with 11 points and 3 assists. He got to the rim, set up teammate Roscoe Smith with a long alley-oop pass, and looked active tonight. This duo has big expectations coming into the Lakers fanbase, but the early impressions they are leaving are more than satisfying the fans.
This is the reason the Lakers, like many other teams, were very hesitant to part with picks in this draft. With so much talent and a deep pool of players, someone like Clarkson, a mid-second round pick, could find himself a very important part of the future of a franchise like LA.