Midseason grades for each player on the Los Angeles Lakers roster
The Los Angeles Lakers have mercifully reached the midway point of the 2015-16 NBA season. Only fools expected this team to be anything close to good this season considering the roster that was constructed with no real cohesion, but even the most pessimistic of pessimists may not have expected that the Lakers would be sitting at a meager 9-32 through the first 41 games of the season and at the very bottom of the Western Conference.
As a whole, the Lakers have unquestionably had a rough go of it at this midseason mark. That’s for a variety of reasons ranging from Byron Scott’s general ineffectiveness as a head coach, the lack of development of young players (thanks to Byron, largely), injuries, and the focus being geared toward the impending retirement of Kobe Bryant.
The announcement of Kobe’s retirement has really thrown a monkey wrench into everything that the Lakers were allegedly trying to do this season. While the primary focus was supposed to be on the development on young players, a joint effort of the Kobe Bryant farewell tour and Scott’s short-sightedness has shifted that focus to where the rebuilding effort seems to be in a quagmire with nothing to tow them out this season.
It’s frustrating to see all of this, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no hope and that some player haven’ performed well despite all of the tumultuous happenings in Los Angeles this season. Subsequently, midseason feels like the perfect time to go down the roster and assess what each player has done to this point by giving them a grade.
In alphabetical order, these are grades for each Lakers player for the first half of the season.
Next: Brandon Bass
Brandon Bass was one of many questionable signings or moves that the Lakers made this past offseason in regards to bringing in veteran players who would expect sizable roles on a team where the bulk of the minutes in the rotation should be utilized in developing the youth on the roster. In that regard, the veteran big man was kind of doomed from the start.
Only further damning him was how miscast he was early on in the year by Byron Scott. Early in the season, Byron was stubbornly trotting Bass out as the backup center when it was obviously ineffective on both ends of the floor, but particularly on the defensive end. Mercifully, Scott has gotten away from that idea as the season has worn on and the Lakers have been better for it.
However, that can’t totally be held to the detriment of Bass as he was put in a role that he never should have been in. That’s partially on the coaching staff for making such a decision. That being said, Bass has been a mixed bag whenever he’s on the floor. Some nights he comes out with impressive energy and showing signs of leadership while other nights he takes the floor looking like he’s just out there to collect his paycheck. It’s complicated grading such a player, but just below average at D+ feels about like the right way to do so.
Next: Tarik Black
To say that the Lakers fans are frustrated with how Tarik Black has been treated in terms of role and playing time so far this season would drastically understate that mentality. While Roy Hibbert and Brandon Bass are lumbering on the interior with a severe lack of upside, fans harken back to last season when Black was a breath of fresh air for this team and showed a ton of promise.
That it’s now hard for Black to even see the floor on most nights out for the Lakers is not only frustrating, but also quite baffling. Black didn’t light up the box score last season and, frankly, the same can be said of his limited work this season. However, he brings an energy to the frontcourt that is often lacking for LA and does so consistently.
While Black may not be a future starter for the Lakers frontcourt as they continue down the road of rebuilding in the wake of several poor seasons and not the retirement of Kobe Bryant, but he has shown the makings of a potential valuable rotation piece. However, whether he is that type of player or not is never going to be realized if he’s not given the proper opportunities. When he has been given those opportunities, though, he’s been just as promising as he was last year.
Next: Anthony Brown
After seeing Anthony Brown play quite well in the preseason this year for the Lakers, there were numerous fans early on calling for him to get time in the rotation. Though it took Kobe Bryant injuring his shoulder for it to finally start happening on a consistent basis, it has been happening and recent weeks and the results have been at least mildly impressive for the rookie.
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The biggest thing that stands out about Brown is his effort and activity on the defensive end of the floor. There’s no question that part of that is geared around the fact that he’s already the Lakers’ best defender on the perimeter and the fact that he can disrupt the action of opponents on the outside with any degree of effectiveness is in stark contrast to any other perimeter player in LA. However, it is undeniably one of his strong suits regardless of the rest of the Lakers.
While he’s not really done much offensively, that seems to largely be by his choosing at this point. It seems as if the rookie is still in need of developing the aggressiveness and confidence on that end of the floor offensively. That being said, he plays within himself with the ball in his hands, makes few mistakes, and has shown flashes of his ability to knock down jumpers. We need to see more before he gets a higher grade, but it’s been nice what he’s shown to this point after finally starting to get time in the rotation.
Next: Kobe Bryant
There’s no more complex grade to hand out than this one on the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s so difficult to weed out the emotions of Kobe Bryant’s final season in the NBA and with this franchise and simply assess what he’s been able to do on the floor this season. In fact, I’d venture to say that it’s impossible to fully separate the Kobe Bryant farewell tour from Kobe the player in the 2015-16 season.
In terms of his actual performance, he’s played about like you would expect Bryant to play in with 20 seasons worth of miles and a slew of recent injuries on his 37-year-old legs. He’s been wildly inefficient, wildly frustrating, and entertaining nonetheless. There are a billion ways that he’s stunted the development of the young Lakers players when he’s on the floor with them, most notably getting the ball and not moving it. However, there have still been those moments of magic from Kobe.
I’m not even going to attempt to give Kobe a grade, though. Frankly, any grade doesn’t matter. This season after he announced his retirement stopped being about how he was playing in 2015-16 and started being about appreciating the player as he makes his exit out of the league after reaching legendary status. No grade can encompass all of that, so why even try?
Next: 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
Trading for Roy Hibbert this offseason was largely a mistake from the start. The front office, to use an analogy I have many times before, attempted to use Hibbert as a band-aid on a wound that needed stitches in regard to the Lakers defense. He was brought in to protect the rim in the hopes that it would alleviate some of the pressure on the overall effort on that end of the floor. Instead, he’s not nearly the defender that he once was and the defense for this team is still abysmal.
Moreover, Hibbert on the offensive end of the floor has been an eyesore of the highest regard. The analogy of calling lumbering big men trees on the interior is a bit cliche, but Hibbert’s lack of mobility and heavy-footed offensive play both in post-up and pick-and-roll situations is accurately assessed by calling him a California Redwood.
Other than Tarik Black—who isn’t a 35-minute per game center in this league—Hibbert isn’t exactly taking away time from anyone in the frontcourt rotation so that fans can bemoan the situation. However, the fact that he’s not taking someone else’s spot doesn’t make him bulletproof to the criticism that he has earned this season. He has failed to address the primary reason he was brought into this situation on the defensive end and has been worse offensively.
Next: Marcelo Huertas
Remember the times in the preseason when point guard Marcelo Huertas looked like diet Steve Nash and had many fans thinking that he could be a legitimate asset to the team this season? While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, be sure to remember any of those times fondly because they have long since passed. Now, Huertas has been buried on the bench and rightfully so.
Looking past the fact that he’s at the very back of a crowded backcourt in Los Angeles and is essentially wasting space on a roster that could stand to see an influx of young prospects from the D-League or elsewhere, the performance of Huertas has been hard to stomach in the rare occasions that he’s been on the floor.
The biggest knock on him is rightfully what he’s able to do on the defensive end—or, more accurately, the fact that he can’t really do much of anything on defense. He’s a saloon door on the perimeter that opponents smartly pick on whenever he does dust off his jersey and enter the game for the Lakers.
Even worse is that his offense has been frustrating to watch, as well. At a younger age, Huertas was probably an electric offensive player that could make wowing plays. However, in his early 30s in his first NBA seasons, those attempts at creating electricity with wild plays largely result in poor decisions and turnovers. He’s been an abject failure and there’s no way to avoid that.
Next: Ryan Kelly
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.
Probably the brightest spot imaginable for a Lakers team with only nine wins in their first 41 games of this season has been the performance of rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. When the Lakers reached to select Nance at the end of the first round int he 2015 NBA Draft, there were numerous pundits around the league who were less than keen on the decision, thinking that better prospects were available. However, Nance has performed unquestionably like a first-round talent.
Let’s be clear in saying that Nance’s numbers aren’t exactly going to knock anyone back in awe of their greatness. He’s averaging a mere 6.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per game in just a hair over 20 minutes of action per contest. However, the eye-test does far more to Nance’s credit than the box score ever could.
In terms of his energy, activity, and tenacity, Nance’s value to the Lakers on a consistent basis has been unmatched this season. On the offensive end of the floor, he’s always moving and always trying to make plays to put his team in the best position to get points. That activity remains on the defensive end where Nance is always working as a pest, using his quickness, maturity, and athleticism to disrupt plays and at least attempt to try and get stops.
While his increased role has come at the detriment of other young players, there’s no question that Nance’s performance—particularly as a starter—has been a breath of fresh air in Los Angeles.
Next: Julius Randle
Byron Scott’s decision to demote both Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell (we’ll get to him quite soon) from the starting lineup is the unforgettable and yet-to-be-rectified misstep of this season for the Lakers. Randle came into this season with the billing as the future of the frontcourt in Los Angeles and with a ton of optimism surrounding him after he suffered a season-ending injury in his first ever NBA game last season.
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The decision was short-sighted and geared toward putting the team in the best position to win now. While many will point to the fact that it gave Larry Nance Jr. the chance to emerge, that line of thought dismisses the fact that Nance comes into the league this season with far more college experience that Randle and, thus, a more polished, NBA-ready game. In short, it plays into the lack of vision by Scott in making such a decision.
Even still, the promise that Randle has shown throughout the season has been refreshing. While he clearly needs a better offensive system (again, thanks to Scott) that doesn’t allow him to press quite as hard with the ball in his hands, his talent on that end of the floor is undeniable. Equally undeniable is his admirable veracity when attacking the boards. He deserves a favorable grade, but one that could’ve been even more favorable if he were given a legitimate opportunity to develop rather than the head coach largely abandoning those exploits to chase a hopeless course for this season.
Next: D'Angelo Russell
B is for Byron, you’ve really screwed this up.
Just about every way that the Lakers could have mishandled the rookie season of D’Angelo Russell, they have managed to do so. It started in the offseason when the front office mad the boneheaded decision to overload the backcourt and essentially create a traffic jam in that rotation.
However, Byron’s mismanagement regarding Russell has been the most egregious error regarding the rookie. It was evident from Jump Street that this was going to be an issue when Scott refused to give the rookie burn late in games by allowing him to close out games. Byron then poured salt on that wound by moving Russell to the bench with Randle early in the year in favor of starting Lou Williams. While I maintain that moving him to the bench may not have been the worst decision in the right context, Byron’s motives weren’t in the right as the demotion came with a decreased role for the rookie point guard.
With all of the poor decision-making around him that Russell has had to endure, it’s actually a bit remarkable that the 19-year-old has had the moments of success that he has. Make no mistake, he has plenty of room to grow before he’s a star in this league, but how he’s been treated by Scott this season in terms of his role and how he’s still managed to show flashes in spite of that leaves him with a favorable grade.
Next: Robert Sacre
Perhaps one of the most confusing times of the 2015-16 NBA season to this point for the Lakers was when Byron elected to make Robert Sacre part of the regular rotation for a brief stretch of games. As fans saw of the big man last season, his performance on the court is far inferior to his bench celebrations as he performed in the most underwhelming of fashions over that time.
It’s hard to fully dismiss that decision because, after all, one of the biggest criticisms of Scott this season has been his lack of sensible experimentation with the rotation (sensible being the operative word) and giving players chances to prove themselves. However, you’d think that Sacre showed little enough last season for the coaching staff to come to the realization that he’s not going to be a quality rotation player in this league.
Moreover, Sacre in the rotation was taking away minutes from players more deserving opportunities like the Tarik Blacks of the world. Even if Black was banged up for part of the time that Sacre was getting run, throwing out variations of small-ball lineups would’ve been a better option.
The Sacre experiment was a failure yet again this season for the Lakers and, in essence, all the big man proved this season is that it is unequivocally time to move on from him come the end of his deal.
Next: Lou Williams
Lou Williams won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award just last season, but there wasn’t much of a market for him in free agency. For better or worse, that led to the Lakers signing him to a manageable three-year deal. However, the fact that the signing came at a good price and the fact that Williams is a quality NBA player doesn’t make his presence on the roster any more troublesome.
Despite his recent run where he was scoring phenomenally and carrying the Lakers to being competitive, Williams stands in the way of so many things that needs to be happening with this team. With the help of Kobe Bryant, Lou has hindered the offense at times. That’s not because of his production, but largely because he too has often been a ball-stopper in the offense that has hindered the ball-movement that the younger players on the roster need to be getting accustomed to.
Moreover, it’s the young players that again come into play when assessing Williams to this point. It’s hard to swallow the fact that Lou is the player chosen by Byron Scott to replace D’Angelo Russell in the starting lineup when that decision was made.
Because of his production, Williams deserves far better than a failing grade. However, it’s hard to say that he’s been anything more than slightly above average for the Lakers this season because of his inefficiency and the effects that he’s had on the team as a whole in their overall plight to move forward to the next era of the franchise.
Next: Metta World Peace
The Lakers going after veterans this offseason to fill their roster when they could have either signed young prospects with potential upside or just left roster spaces open was always a questionable choice in itself. However, there was no single move that epitomized the confusing nature of such a decision as a whole than dusting off the corpse of Metta World Peace and signing him to a one-year deal.
While World Peace saw the floor more often than anyone could have ever expected early on in the season, that has since died down tremendously. At the halfway point in the season, he’s played in only 19 games and has hardly been effective whenever he’s on the floor. Not that any of this is shocking to any person who saw Metta’s last run in the NBA before he headed to go play overseason, but it’s worth saying that his contributions to this team have been nothing.
Despite the fact that he’s a veteran presence and that having him on the roster is somewhat of a gesture for him having helped out some of the more successful teams of in Los Angeles in the last decade, a failing grade is the only thing suitable for World Peace. From his mere presence on the roster and what he’s given on the floor, he’s been a huge bust for the Lakers.
Next: Nick Young
Nick Young was an odd piece for this current Lakers team from the start. He’s a high-volume shooter with inconsistent defensive effort that also has a tendency to stop the ball on the offensive end of the floor. In summary, he’s essentially one of the worst types of players that you could have playing any kind of significant role in the rotation of a team that is rebuilding and trying to develop a slew of young players.
That being said, Young’s role has fluctuated often this season, most recently seeing him only play in garbage time as rookie Anthony Brown has been getting more consistent run. However, when Young was on the floor, it was a mixed bag from night to night on what he would provide. Some nights out it would be an offensive explosion from Young, others it would be a chore to watch him jack up bricks when ball-movement would’ve been nice to see.
Next: Clarkson Could Be Next Monta Ellis, Which Is Problematic
It’s hard to grade a player who was going to be a misfit with a team from the start. However, that’s the task at hand when it comes to Young. Luckily, though, Young makes it easy because there’s only one grade that even remotely makes sense for such a senseless asset on the Lakers roster: P, Swaggy P.