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Lakers: Midseason Grades for Each Player

By Cody Williams

Dec 30, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1), forward Brandon Bass (2) and forward Nick Young (0) celebrate against the Boston Celtics during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1), forward Brandon Bass (2) and forward Nick Young (0) celebrate against the Boston Celtics during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 1, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) dribbles against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) dribbles against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

B+. . PG/SG. Lakers. JORDAN CLARKSON

In what was a difficult season for fans to handle last season, then rookie guard Jordan Clarkson emerged as the one source of optimism. The second-rounder came seemingly out of nowhere to really show a ton of promise as a scorer and, even better, showed proper development as the season wore on. That left many fans hoping that they would see steps forward from Clarkson this season as the team was hoping to develop for the future.

Frankly, the abandonment of the rebuilding philosophy in favor of catering to the Kobe Bryant farewell tour has largely thwarted any chance of quality development for the young players in LA this season. Moreover, a crowded backcourt rotation has only further done damage to that process in regards to Clarkson and others. Even still, the second-year guard has shown a ton of promise again this year.

While you would certainly like to see Clarkson facilitate more often than he does when he’s serving as the point guard for this Lakers team, his knack for scoring the basketball is undeniable. His jumper is still a work-in-progress, but is improving and hasn’t hindered him from being the most efficient backcourt scorer for the Lakers to this point in the year. It’d be nice to see Clarkson in a more cohesive, less isolation-based offense, but he’s again proving his value as an NBA player this season in an impressive manner.

Next: Roy Hibbert

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