Los Angeles Lakers among best at developing G League talent

Is the NBA G-League living up to what people perceive it to be and how can it be improved? The Los Angeles Lakers and South Bay Lakers do a better job than most clubs.

The Los Angeles Lakers seemed to have cracked the code when it comes to using the G League for development. However, not as many organizations are as successful.

Far too often in the G League coaches are vying to be promoted and prove themselves with wins and the focus is not always on developing their players. They opt to play the veteran G League and former NBA players on their roster to ensure wins. This and other facets of the G League make it “not yet” the development league that it strives to be.

One NBA Trainer, who is friends with coaches and got some feedback on playtime decisions in the G League, told me that it is really up to the NBA head coach and GM’s who plays when on the development team. Something is wrong here, that means it is not truly a development league.

There are politics at play, and most of the time G League coaches don’t have the autonomy to play who they want. Heck, even NBA coaches are at the mercy of their GM’s having to play certain players they want to trade and benching players they want to leave.

One former NBA coach said he scouted TJ McConnell and was begging his GM to get him, but because of his size, he was dismissed. It bothers him to this day. It’s all about the money and the championship.

Los Angeles Lakers

Teams also don’t want other teams scouts to see players they eventually want on their NBA rosters.

For example, it almost seems as if the Bulls organization was hiding one of their two-way players Rawle Alkins, who probably should have been drafted, during the G-League Showcase (about 200 NBA scouts were in attendance) in Vegas by pulling him up to the NBA team during that week then sending him back down after.

When Alkins has got minutes on the Bulls court, he produces a lot in a very little time. You can only be as good as your teammates, and he rises to the occasion whenever he plays, dishing and sharing the ball.

Maybe the Lakers should have drafted him after all, he did work out for the team prior to the draft, but he didn’t go to the University of Michigan, so that counted against him probably (wink wink).

Perhaps the New York Knicks organization is the best out there as far as giving their G League players and two-way players an actual shot at the NBA.

David Fizdale, who was a college coach for six years before coaching in the NBA for 16 years. He played his two-way player Allonzo Trier from the get-go on the Knicks, and Trier proved he should have been drafted and signed a contract in the millions.

Then the Knicks signed Kadeem Allen to a two-way contract (Drafted by the Celtics in 2018 then released). Allen, a week in, was assigned to the Knicks, got playing time and showed he could perform scoring eight points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing three assists in his first game.

The Knicks were tanking, and just completed a trade with the Dallas Mavericks after Kristaps Porzingis requested a trade. This may mean more play time for their G League players we will see.

One coach who has done a great job developing his players is Rio Grande Vipers head coach, Joseph Blair.

Blair successfully developed Bruno Caboclo (Brazilian) to garner him a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. He also helped Brandon Sampson secure a two-way contract with the Bulls, a team with Lauri Markkanen and Rawle Alkins on their roster.

Another coach that has done a good job is South Bay Lakers head coach Coby Karl. Karl fosters teamwork and focuses on helping his team with chemistry. He lets his players figure out how to correct issues on the court and isn’t always quick to call timeouts when the team falls behind in the first half. His players on the court know he has their back because he is always, and we mean always, questioning the referees when they miss a blatant call.

Karl focuses on his two-way players and any player who has been assigned to his team from the Lakers first. Luke Walton does a great job of getting his bench players who sometimes never see the court at Staples Center, time playing with Karl and South Bay. When they play, those players, in particular, get the ball, and their teammates understand that as well.

How do you think Ivica Zubac got so good over the last several years? He got a ton of playing time on the Lakers G League team and was not only able to learn but gain self-esteem by earning double-doubles and being counted on to produce. David Nwaba (Cleveland Cavs) made it to the NBA after playing for Karl, as well as Josh Magette (Atlanta Hawks).

Karl’s rotations are interesting. Sometimes the newest and youngest members of the team play a lot and sometimes they don’t see the court, especially when all three Lakers rookies were on the roster (Svi Mykhailiuk, Isaac Bonga, and Moritz Wagner). Add two-ways Alex Caruso, who should be playing more in the NBA, and Jonathan Williams, who showed some flashes of brilliance at the beginning of the season on the Lakers squad, and you have your starting five.

South Bay has some great talent in veterans Scott Machado, Andre Ingram, Justin Harper, and Travis Wear. All are fun to watch because they are so intense and really want to win. Andre had himself a night on January 28th when he scored 27 points, just wish an NBA team would take his talent seriously and give him a contract. He is already developed!

The Lakers G League team is not necessarily a profit center for the organization. It is not run as a minor league team like in baseball where it is mostly family focused, stat-heavy, and development centric.

A true development league would focus on every player, and make sure that their best skills are on show for NBA scouts. The players would understand exactly what they need to do to get the 10-day contract (or the opportunity that a two-way player might get).

NBA scouts come, watch, and leave, but not one 10-day contract has been offered from any NBA team to a South Bay Lakers player yet this season which leaves us baffled. Maybe after the trade deadline and possible movement in the Lakers roster come to fruition, there may be some opportunities for G League players. David Nwaba was elevated this way, predominantly because of his defense, so it can happen.

Some organizations use their G League affiliate to the greatest extent and some haven’t figured out yet how to use them more. The Clippers bring up players from their affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, and see time actually playing in the NBA.

What it takes for these players to make it to the league is also a mystery to most, even the people working in the G League. It comes down to the NBA organization, their philosophy and how they view and use their affiliate team.

We spoke to players and coaches at the Vegas G League Showcase, and the coaches felt they had no way to explain why they are a great coach and need to be promoted. The players, who usually don’t get much playing time, told us they were frustrated with their coaches because they weren’t being played according to their best skills and position and because they weren’t being individually developed and trained.

When you hear several NBA scouts tell you that they don’t look at the scoreboard, and they don’t look at any player who is under 6-foot-4 or older than 25, then you have to think there are some huge disconnects and false dreams being sold to a lot of veterans playing in the G League.

Fix this problem by being transparent about what this league really is, a development league for the NBA contract players where veterans are actually developing their teammates. Or, bring up veteran players to the NBA more often and give them a chance. Someone needs to develop a new minor league system with many levels like baseball.

As far as the South Bay Lakers, they play the most team ball as any team I have seen this season, and that is something to celebrate and come and cheer for.