The Los Angeles Lakers have played four preseason games thus far and are two-thirds through the games that do not count before the regular season begins. Los Angeles is 1-3 in the four preseason games and have shown some positive signs throughout.
However, it has not been all positive for the Lakers. There are some issues that this team is going to have to work out that will absolutely carry into the regular season. There are also some players who have not played as well as the team would have hoped.
Los Angeles is thin when it comes to depth as is. While they might not be big-name players, certain depth players not playing up to expectations is the last thing that the team needs. Unfortunately, there are three such players that have taken a hit, specifically.
Here are 3 Lakers whose stock has plummeted this preseason:
1. Damian Jones
The Los Angeles Lakers brought in both Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant and to be quite frank, neither has played as well as fans were hoping. Bryant has been a bit better than Jones as he has shown the ability to get to the free-throw line, but the duo has been slightly underwhelming.
It is a small sample size and is nothing to worry about but Jones specifically could see fewer minutes as a result of this preseason play. Not only has he been somewhat disappointing, but Wenyen Gabriel has looked fantastic and has brought an energy to the floor every time he is on the court.
Gabriel still can’t shoot and he may not have the size of a traditional center but he very well could play his way into backup center minutes. If that is the case, we are going to see Jones having a smaller role on this team than initially envisioned when he first signed this summer.
2. Max Christie
To be fair, Max Christie didn’t have that much stock as a second-round rookie heading into the preseason — or at least he should not have. There seemed to be this expectation from Lakers fans that Christie would be able to contribute to the Lakers right away in his first season.
Los Angeles has had a great eye for talent in recent years and they have had later draft picks come into the league and produce right away. Heck, Austin Reaves was an undrafted free agent last season that came in and earned NBA minutes.
The difference with Christie that a lot of fans were overlooking is his age. Reaves was 23 when he came into the league, which is a massive difference from being 19. Christie was never going to be able to produce in his rookie season at 19 years old, which is something we warned about here at Lake Show Life.
Christie has looked exactly like what he is: a 19-year-old second-round pick that has never played with NBA players before. It is very obvious that he is not ready for a consistent role in the rotation and would benefit immensely from developing on the South Bay Lakers.
The hope is that he will get there eventually and in 2-3 years he can be an impactful role player for Los Angeles. But with him being so green, and the team already having so many guards, there really is no purpose for him this season.
3. Cole Swider
There was a lot of hype for Cole Swider entering the preseason. Swider was fantastic for the Lakers in the Summer League and really does have the skill set to play his way into the NBA rotation despite being on a two-way deal.
Swider is a marksman from deep. He was the best shooter in the entire Summer League and is coming off a season with the Syracuse Orange in which he shot 41.1% from three. Unlike Christie, he is also older as at 23 years old, Swider could produce in year one if LA needed him to.
Because he is on a two-way deal already, Swider had to really earn this final roster spot in LA this preseason and he has not been able to do that thus far. The rookie has picked the worst time to go ice cold from the field, shooting 25% from the floor and 23.1% from three.
It is a minuscule sample size and is nothing to worry about but because of his contract situation, it should be enough of a reason to not give him the final roster spot. Instead, Los Angeles probably prefers to sign someone like Matt Ryan, who has shot exceptionally well this preseason, a non-guaranteed contract.
New Lakers signing could be another Alex Caruso for LA
The Los Angeles Lakers brought in two new players during the preseason, one of which has the potential to be another Alex Caruso for the team.
That way the team can give Swider minutes in the G League and elevate him as part of the two-way contract when needed. That is the better long-term approach than signing a struggling shooter to a roster spot and simply letting Ryan walk away when he earned a chance.