Darvin Ham’s mistake in the spotlight as Lakers rookie erupts in G League
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers hired long-time assistant Darvin Ham this past summer after a disappointing season from Frank Vogel. While most of the team’s issues were not Vogel’s fault, someone had to be the fall guy and the head coach is always the first domino to fall.
That being said, the results from Ham this season have mostly been positive. The well-respected head coach has gotten his team to play hard and has elevated a roster that, let’s face is, is not as deep or talented as others in the league.
Ham has not been perfect, though, with his rotation choices being the biggest mistakes that have been in the spotlight. Most notably, fans are tired of seeing underperforming players get chances when there are potential replacements available.
That is most notably the case with Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn. While the two are tangled in trade rumors, fans do not really want to see them on the court as they are negative assets to this team. Instead, many fans would likely see the young players get a chance — including Max Christie, who just put on an absolute clinic for the South Bay Lakers.
Max Christie deserves more chances on the Los Angeles Lakers.
It goes without saying but the G League obviously is not at the same level of competition as the NBA, especially for a rookie. That being said, Max Christie showcased a lot of promising traits in this game that go hand-in-hand with the promising traits he has shown in his limited NBA chances.
It might be a small sample size but Christie is shooting 42.1% on his NBA three-point attempts this season. A game like this in the G League shows that it is not a fluke and that Christie can shoot the basketball.
There are also a lot of defensive traits to get excited about when it comes to the 19-year-old. They are not going to come along quickly at the NBA level but it shows that there is potential there for the future.
Regardless, even as an unfinished product, Christie could offer more to this Lakers team than either of the flailing point guards. Christie adds something that the team actually needs (three-point shooting) and can provide a shot in the arm off the bench.
Nobody is campaigning for Christie to get 25 minutes a game at the NBA level but it might be best for the team both this season and in the long run to give Christie some kind of defined role in this rotation.
Heck, there could even be an added benefit of Christie improving his trade value. If he shows promise at the NBA level then perhaps Los Angeles can include him in place of a protected first-round pick to make depth additions.
With the lack of depth in LA, there certainly is room for a rookie to give it a go and see what he is made of at the NBA level.