Lakers questionable roster move highlights previous mistake
By Jason Reed
Rob Pelinka has not done a great job of building a competitive roster for Los Angeles Lakers fans to root for. After winning the NBA Championship in 2020, the front office has done just about everything to strip the team of that identity and the results speak for themselves.
Pelinka has had quite a few fireable offenses running the Lakers but that did not stop Jeanie Buss from giving him a contract extension this year. Unfortunately for fans, unless things drastically change it looks like the franchise won’t be led in a great direction.
The front office continues to make baffling decisions even during the season. With one pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Los Angeles made an interesting selection of Max Christie in the second round. Christie has hardly played this season and now won’t even be with the main club for the time being.
It is not that surprising to see Christie get assigned to South Bay considering he had such a small role in the rotation and was not playing particularly well. It is better for him to actually get reps in games for his development. However, while not surprising, it does highlight the issue with taking Christie in the first place.
Why drafting Max Christie was a mistake by the Los Angeles Lakers:
The Los Angeles Lakers valued the wrong thing in the 2022 NBA Draft. They took Christie, a 19-year-old guard that would eventually have no shot of making his way into the rotation with all of the guards on the roster. It was a selection that was never going to have an immediate impact.
And that is fine in certain circumstances. Obviously, when a team drafts a player they are drafting them for the long-term potential. But this is a Lakers team that needed some youth that could contribute right away. Instead of taking a very green player in Christie, the Lakers would have been better off drafting an older prospect that is more polished out of college.
These prospects almost always have lower ceilings but can be instant contributors in the league. Just look at Kyle Kuzma, who always had a lower ceiling than Lonzo Ball but contributed far more than Ball did early on. That is exactly what the Lakers needed out of the 2022 NBA Draft.
Early on this season, there is not an apparent prospect that the Lakers definitely missed out on. But if they would have taken an older prospect like Vince Williams Jr they could have not only gotten more than they are getting from Christie but allowed the prospect to play more and play better as well.
Or they could have just not traded future capital to buy a pick in the 2022 NBA Draft that was essentially going to be a wasted roster spot anyway. Christie could eventually blossom but it could also be a case where he doesn’t get his chance with the team and the Lakers let him walk as a restricted free agent after only two years.
Either way, trading a future pick to select someone who has no impact whatsoever on this team, especially with a shrinking title window, is not the best example of roster construction.