3 studs and duds from the Lakers offseason acquisitions

2. Damian Jones

When Rob Pelinka did not sign Damian Jones to a long-term contract in 2021 there were many Lakers fans reacting like he just let go of the next great Lakers big man. Then when he was brought back again this past offseason those same Jones stans were as jubilant as a kid waiting to open his presents on Christmas.

Now reality has set in and that is that Jones is just not good enough to get on to the floor for Los Angeles. He has only played in 11 out of 20 games averaging a measly 7.5 minutes per game.

That harsh reality is far from the expectations of him developing into the center that can play alongside AD and help him out in the interior. It would help him if he could stretch the floor because head coach Darvin Ham wants to run a four-out offensive scheme, but an outside shot has never been a part of his game and likely never will be.

Jones is viewed as a younger prospect, yet he is already 28 years old, and there is a large enough sample size to see what type of player he is at this point in his career. He has a strong athletic ability that allows him to be a rim runner and shot blocker, but with the type of lineups, Ham has been running with this season that is not enough to get him on the court.

Even though AD is still reluctant to play the center position, the Lakers’ best lineups are when he does. That fact alone does not bode well for Jones’ minutes on this team.