2. The Lakers have better young prospects
The Clippers have a few good players, like Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Danilo Gallinari, and they deserve plenty of credit for getting that team to play above the sum of its parts.
But they are fully developed veterans with no real room for improvement at this point of their careers. They are who they are.
The Lakers, on the other hand, have three good young prospects who are still developing and improving. Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma started off modestly early in the season, looking like they hadn’t improved since last season, but over the last couple months both have significantly improved their level of play.
Ingram, in particular, had been playing like an All-Star in his last several weeks before getting injured, and he is a guy who excels at more than one facet of the game.
I’ve been hard on Lonzo Ball, but he does have some serious potential if he is cleared for full basketball activities within the next few weeks and develops a red-hot burning desire for stardom and the work ethic to make it happen. We know how good he is as a passer and a push guard in the Lakers’ fast breaking scheme, but his defense is arguably his most valuable asset to this team.
If Ball ever learns how to shoot at least 45 percent from the field and 36-37 percent from downtown, he’ll have a real shot at becoming an All-Star someday if he stays healthy.
For a prospective free agent, this is like the difference between buying a piece of real estate right after it has reached its full market valuation potential, versus buying one right after our nation has gotten out of a recession and the economy is showing the first signs of a true recovery.