Today, CBS released their Rookie Power Rankings and the Lakers own D’Angelo Russell rounded out the Top 5. Even 32 year old rookie, Marcelo Huertas, made the Top 10 coming in at eighth overall.
Before delving into their rankings, CBS made sure to include a disclaimer — one which would basically let them off the hook if these rankings were completely wrong come regular season:
"Preseason is clearly different than the regular season, yet it does give coaches the opportunity to experiment with different lineups and play rookies while their depth chart becomes more solidified"
In descending order, Russell was surpassed by Emmanuel Mudiay, Karl-Anthony Towns, Stanley Johnson and Jahlil Okafor.
While Towns and Okafor were assumed to be better NBA-ready players immediately off the bat, the emergence of Denver Nuggets’ point guard Mudiay and Detroit Pistons’ small forward Johnson is more surprising.
Preseason Rookie Power Rankings: No shortage of talent in this crop https://t.co/xX00wP6Ewa by @Ananth_Pandian pic.twitter.com/nKRIlozJ4I
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) October 22, 2015
At one point over the summer, Mudiay seemed to be battling head to head with Okafor to become the Lakers’ number two overall pick. Though he ultimately fell to seventh, Mudiay’s potential was never overlooked.
Standing an athletic 6’5, 200 pounds, Mudiay fits the new age prototypical point guard build. Prior to the draft, he even drew comparisons to Oklahoma City Thunder point guard, Russell Westbrook.
Something that is considered a positive surrounding Mudiay, which would normally be frowned upon, is his high turnover rate. Currently, he is averaging just around five turnovers a game.
According to CBS’ Zach Harper, throughout history, 19 other rookies have averaged 3.5 turnovers or more. Those players include Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and John Wall. Not bad company to be surrounded by.
Though often considered a bad thing, the reasoning is probably as follows: if a player has excessive turnovers, it more likely than not means that they also have a high usage rating but more so, that they constantly have the ball in their hands. Ipso facto, said player should theoretically develop faster than others.
Stanley Johnson’s situation is interesting because prior to entering the league, he made it known his allegiance to the Los Angeles Lakers.
"‘My family is a Lakers family. I always have wanted to play for the Lakers one day,’ Johnson said. ‘As a little kid, that’s a dream. But right now it’s about business and what’s right for me. I want to play for an organization that likes me the best.Even though the Lakers are the hometown for me, it is what it is. It’s a business and I respect them. They respect me. If our paths cross one day, that would be awesome. If they don’t, we’ll move on that way.’"
With the second pick, though he possessed tremendous upside, SoCal native Johnson seemed too much of a gamble for the infamously risk averse Lakers.
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That said, it’s a feel good story to see Johnson making waves in the league, already starting to gain traction as the dark horse Rookie of the Year candidate — though the Lakers’ own Marcelo Huertas, may have something to say about that.
In regards to Russell, injury, which has in turn led to role issues, accounts for much of his struggles.
Through six preseason games, he is averaging just 6.2 points, 3.2 assists, on 41% shooting in 15.6 minutes of play. None of these stats jump out at you immediately, but Russell has shown glimpses of why the Lakers drafted him various times this preseason.
Knowing what is now known about turnovers, though it seems odd to say, it’s not encouraging that Russell is only averaging around one turnover per contest. Get your numbers up Russell!
Though he still falls into what CBS calls the “Stud” category, what do you think about Russell’s fifth overall rookie ranking? How about Huertas? Too high, too low, just right?
Let us know in the comments below.