Larry Nance Jr. Discussion: Don't Fake The Funk On A Nance Dunk

Well, I don't think there's much question who is better now. If I had to win one game to save my life, Nance is getting 30-35 minutes at the 4 and Randle is getting 10-15. But I wonder how much our infatuation with Randle revolves around him being the #7 pick and our "reward" from that first truly dreadful season we'd had in over a decade? The two most consistent players we have drafted were a second rounder we bought for 3 million and a throw-in pick for taking on Jeremy Lin's contract. Those inauspicious draft situations may be clouding our judgement as to who really is most valuable to this team and who will be building blocks going forward.

This issue though is if we DO decide Nance is the guy, what do we do with Randle? He hasn't really shown enough to get anything of real value in a trade. And because he missed that first season this is already his 3rd year. That rookie deal will expire before you know it. I think part of it is as Laker fans we don't play this draft game. We havn't ever been in the position of other teams where they draft often at the top and rarely get anything more than a rotation player. Most drafts are littered with guys in that 6-12 range that never really amount to anything. I think that because he was so highly touted out of HS and he was the highest pick we'd had in forever, we just assumed we could ink him in at PF for the next decade.

He could still end up being great. He's got some amazing tools. But he seems to lack the "offensive awareness" and "defensive awareness" stats.

 

I'm a HUGE Nance fan, and agree that right now he is our best 4. But, I am not writing Randle off yet. He demonstrated one transcendent ability last year: rebounding. It's not the only thing that matters, but it does matter. I'm just happy that between the two of them our 4 spot is solid.

 

This is what I'm seeing too. I loved Randle last year and defended him but I was incredibly disappointed to see him still look so completely lost out there in the first pre-season game. His lack of B-ball IQ and nuances is glaring right now. Larry had four years of college ball, plus he's a second generation NBA player like Luke and Kobe. He just gets it. Randle looks lost. And Randle hasn't had the playing time to really iron out the kinks in his game.

I will say this though, we should give Randle some time. As lost as he was at times (remember that Odom looked lost in the triangle until Pau arrived and he started dive cutting), he shot 50% and he grabbed 7 boards in 18 minutes. The dude can rebound at an elite level. That's his strong suit and for a PF that's one of his most important roles.

But yeah, he needs WORK. A lot of it. But I've noticed that last year with more playing time Randle found his groove and I think he'll do the same this season.

I love Larry's energy but I want that coming off the bench alongside Ingram and Black for that swarming second unit. They can really change the game that way. All of them are team guys who play well together. I like the idea of developing Randle as an offensive weapon for the first unit because I feel they need that.

 

It also wasn't his first season

 

Same. I'm waiting till the end of the preseason to draw a conclusion and even than things might be different come regular season.

 

It's hard to call a guy durable who had a significant injury in high school and another in his first NBA season. In his last four years of ball, he has missed more than 365 days of game time.

 

I am not saying Nance will for sure be better, but Randle's lack of natural basketball awareness is troubling. He has a nose for rebounding, but he seems a little lost with everything else. Could it be a combination of Byron's crap coaching last season and him still earning a new system in that first game? Possibly. But Nance doesn't have those problems. He knows where he needs to be. He gets good positioning. I am NOT writing off Randle yet, but I think the general consensus among Laker fans was he was our pf of the future. It wasn't being penciled in, he was being inked in. Nance was sort of being talked about as a nice luxury...maybe we can play them together in some stretches. But Nance is a superior all-around player who impacts the game in multiple facets. He is only a couple years older.

And you are not being fair to Nance. A bit more athletic Luke? Nance is an elite athlete. Luke was probably in the bottom 2% of athleticism in the entire league. Nance averaged close to a double double when he was starting last season and he was 10 times more active on defense.

 

I'm excited to see EVERYONE under Luke and with a new system. The amount of difference this change could make it hard to overstate.