Lakers: Midseason Grades for Each Player

Ryan Kelly has continually been on the move between the Lakers bench and the D-League Los Angeles D-Fenders and rightfully so. While he has had some big efforts with the D-Fenders when he’s been designated for assignment, his role on the Lakers has been simply to come in for garbage time minutes and, even then, it’s been less than sightly watching him play—and that’s not just his questionable hairstyle.

The Lakers’ resident caveman admittedly has shown some positive things on the offensive end of the floor at times. While it’s rarely attractive in how he finds his scoring opportunities, he’s active when he does get to take off his warmup clothing and his experience in college with Duke is evident by how he moves on the offensive end.

That being said, he’s a below average rebounder for a player of his size and at his position and an even worse defender. It’s almost not even hyperbole to say that Jack Nicholson could get out of his seat in STAPLES Center and drive by Kelly if he tried to stop him.

There weren’t exactly high hopes for Kelly coming into the season, but the point has been made clear that he’s not an asset unless some other team wants him included as part of a trade in the coming month. As for the first half of the season, though, he’s been slightly better than failing—but only slightly.

Next: Larry Nance Jr.