work in progress
[OC] How new coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers can deal with the 37-million-pound elephant in the room (aka Russell Westbrook)
The Los Angeles Lakers just announcing the hiring of head coach Darvin Ham, a coaching prospect among the best candidates of the cycle. And while the Lakers have some superstars and a recent title to their name, there are still question marks on the roster. Namely: Russell Westbrook.
Let's take a closer look on where the Lakers and Westbrook stand, and where they may go from here.
[Why So Serious?] Coming up with Nicknames for the New Draft Class
We may complain about the shortage of gas and affordable housing, but we've also entered a crisis of a different kind: a shortage of good sports nicknames. In a social media world that favors concision, we're falling back on initials way too often.
To remedy that, let's try to dish out some monikers for the incoming draft class and hope it sticks.
We don't have to go through every prospect, because a lot of them come with unique and badass names already: Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe... you don't need a nickname on top of those: it's gilding the lily. Instead, let's focus on some generic names first:
######99 cent store
Langston Galloway, Detroit Pistons, UFA, 28 years old*
Jevon Carter, Milwaukee Bucks, UFA, 26 years old
Over the last two NBA Finals, we've seen the value of a great defensive guard. Two years ago, Milwaukee's Jrue Holiday helped frustrate Chris Paul and Devin Booker. In this past Finals, we saw two great perimeter defenders in Marcus Smart and Gary Payton II (an alum of the 99 Cent Store.)
Bucks' backup Jevon Carter hopes to follow Payton's template. While he's limited on offense (averaging 11-4-4 per 36), he hangs his hat on defense. Back at West Virginia (known as "Press Virginia" under defensive mastermind Bob Huggins), Carter won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. Carter has shown flashes over being that bulldog on defense in the NBA as well, averaging 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per 36 minutes, and registering a positive BPM on that end (+0.5.)
Unfortunately for Carter, he hasn't had the opportunity to showcase that in reliable minutes. He's a specific player that needs a specific fit, and he hasn't found that yet. His initial stints with Memphis and Phoenix didn't yield much. He began this year with Brooklyn, but the Nets were too guard-heavy. He ended the year with Milwaukee, who already had a better version of him in Jrue Holiday.
To be fair, there are a few other things holding Carter back. While he's a good athlete, he's smaller than the other guards we mentioned (Holiday, Smart, Payton) at 6'1" with a 6'5" wingspan. That makes it more difficult for him to "switch" 1-3 as easily as the others can. He's also not enough of a playmaker to actually run the point.
Still, no one's signing Carter with the expectation that he'll be your point guard or that he'll compete for heavy minutes. Even calling him a poor man's Marcus Smart is too generous -- he's more like a poor man's Alex Caruso. He's best cast as a complementary option off the bench, a la Randy Brown (from the 90's Bulls.) Like Brown, he'd defend point guards and then blend in "off ball" on the offensive end. Carter should be able to do that some, given that he's a better shooter than you'd expect (38.3% from 3, 81.0% from FT in his career.)
potential fits
CHA. Charlotte could use better defenders all around; they ranked 23rd in defense. Not only could Jevon Carter play some backup minutes behind LaMelo Ball, he could play well alongside him. Ball can handle everything offensively, and shift over to SG on defense given his 6'7" size.
DET. Like LaMelo Ball, Cade Cunningham operates as a primary point guard on offense, but has the size to slide around at different positions defensively. Jevon Carter can give him a break defensively by pestering point guards. The Pistons already have a defensive backup in Cory Joseph (and arguably Killian Hayes), but Carter is 4 years younger than Joseph and fits the timeline well.
WAS. The Wizards have a bunch of question marks around their PG position and around their defense in general. Carter can be a good complement to Bradley Beal (who can sometimes coast on defense) in that way.
Delon Wright, Atlanta Hawks, UFA, 30 years old
Our "99 Cent Store" has had some success touting point guards in the past, including Fred VanVleet (2018), Tyus Jones (2019), and Gary Payton II (2020.) Candidly, some have not worked out as well. Back in 2019, we featured Delon Wright as a potential discount starter. He signed a richer-than-expected contract at $9M, and performed worse than expected. This past season for Atlanta was his low point, as Wright averaged only 4.4 points in his 18.9 minutes per game.
Still, this is the 99 Cent Store here, so you can't expect every produce to taste like a peach. And you can't expect every item to be brand spankin' new either. Some will be recycled or "used goods." So with that mind, Delon Wright will RE-ENTER the 99 Cent Store's shelves for 2022.
Now that he's 30 years old, Wright's time in the NBA may be ticking. Nevertheless, we're intrigued by the tools he can bring to the table. At 6'5", he's a good and fairly "switchable" defender. He averaged 2.3 steals per 36 last year (roughly his career average) and charted as an awesome +2.4 impact per 100 possessions on defense. Some of that may be Trae Young related, but it's not far removed from his career mark of +1.7.
Normally, a defensive-specialist like Delon Wright will look lost and confused on offense, but that doesn't apply here. Dating back to his college days at Utah, Wright has been a pretty good scorer/slasher, and he's demonstrated pretty good playmaking instincts as well. In his prime, I still think he could have been a decent starter. At this age, I still think he can be a decent backup.
######clearance rack
Joel Ayayi, UFA, 22 years old
When it comes to the NBA Draft, teams view older prospects like they're 40 year olds on Tinder. The first impression may be OK, but the skepticism remains. There must be something wrong with you.
Joel Ayayi suffered from that as an "over-aged" college prospect. He looked the part as a 6'5" combo guard, but he took a while to get going. He redshirted his first year at Gonzaga (rare in college basketball) and then he came off the bench the following year. He played pretty well in the next 2 seasons, but the NBA lost interest and left him undrafted in 2021.
Ayayi has decent excuses for his slow start. For one, he came from France, so it's understandable that he may have needed some time to adjust to the States. Moreover, Gonzaga tends to be a deep, stacked squad. In fact, they went a combined 95-7 (not a typo) in the 3 seasons he took the court.
To be clear, Ayayi was never the star of the team. At times, he wasn't even the 2nd or 3rd or even 4th best player on the Bulldogs. But in a way, that's not a bad thing. In a sense, it prepared Ayayi for his likely NBA role. He's a glue guy and minutes filler who can play either the 1 or the 2. This past season in the G-League, he averaged 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per 36 minutes. He didn't score a ton, but he shot efficiently (60% from the field, 38% from 3.) And while all those numbers scream potential "fluke," they're similar to his college numbers as well (53% from the field, 36% from 3, 7+ rebounds per 36.)
Ayayi has been dropped by a few NBA squads, presumably because he lacks upside. He doesn't have one standout skill, so it's hard to imagine him as a starter. Still, he's not far away from being a decent rotation player -- and at age 22, he can get there with some more development. He's worth a roster spot.
######previously on...
We're going to try and not repeat names too much, but 99 Cent Store alums Tyus Jones (2019) and Gary Payton II (2020) are worth keeping an eye on. Both have played well and may be in line for solid pay days, so they don't fit so neatly in our storefront anymore.
Yogi Ferrell (2020) would still sit on the clearance rack shelves though. He's undersized, but he's a heady field general and a good locker room presence. He's a solid option for teams looking for a steady 3rd PG.
######99 cent store
Davon Reed, Denver Nuggets, RFA, 27 years old
It doesn't matter how good or bad a team may be, every single franchise is looking for playable 3+D wings. The supply and demand problem is so bad that most will settle for "either/or." "3" OR "D". A sharpshooter who sucks on defense, or a defender who clanks like Andre Roberson. Trying to find a guy who can do both? In this economy? Good luck.
Sometimes, when you're hunting for diamonds in the rough, you're going to have to squint and look hard through the gutters and the discard pile. That could have described Nuggets wing Davon Reed up until recently. A former R2 pick, Reed didn't play well for Phoenix and Indiana and eventually bombed out of the league. He ended up playing in the P.League+ in Tawain, which, apparently, is a real thing. A successful stint there and in the G-League led Reed all the way back to the NBA.
Since then, Reed has showcased some serious potential to be a legit 3+D rotational player. Offensively, Reed shoots half his shots from beyond the arc, and he's pretty good at it. He hit 39.5% from deep across 4 years and 131 total games back in college at Miami (Fla.) He's carried that to the pros, hitting 36.4% in the G-League and 39.1% in limited minutes in the NBA. More than that, Reed has the template of a good defensive player as well. He's 6'6", but comes equipped with a freaky 7'0" wingspan.
That combination finally manifested as a decent player in his 668 minutes for Denver this year, where Reed registered as a -0.3 BPM player. That may not sound like any great shakes, but it a net neutral 3+D player has value to a team. Given his lack of name recognition, Reed may represent a bargain signing if Denver decides not to match an offer for him.
Mason Jones, Los Angeles Lakers, RFA, 23 years old
Langston Galloway, Detroit Pistons, UFA, 28 years old*
Posted Dec 23, 2021, 4:28 AM UTC · edited