Link. Harsh, but let's hope the Lakers prove this scout wrong. Don't 100 percent disagree with everything he said.
"I would have taken both Ben Simmons and Kris Dunn over Ingram. He will float a lot this year, his lack of strength will hurt him, and he needs to tighten up his handle. …" Clearly written before Brandon's coming out party last night against the top rated Warriors. Kris Dunn over Ingram.....?
That part is asinine. Completely. There is no other team in the league that would have taken Dunn iver Ingram, IMO. No team. Arguably, we got the best player in the draft. Period.
Yeah the only other guy I heard say he wouldn't have taken Ingram was Jay Williams on draft night. Didn't understand it then and don't know. The general consensus was it was Simmons and Ingram. Nobody else was really in that discussion. There is a reason for that. Dunn may be the better player this year and even next year, but Ingram has the higher ceiling and most think he'll be better long term.
i like dunn a lot and would have taken him third, but i don't understand all the folks saying he's going to be better than ingram. they do realize the age and experience difference right? edit: regarding the general take...yes, i don't like saying it, but a 25 win season and another last place finish are certainly possibilities, even if things improve. i'd prefer a 33 win season and something really great to talk about (russell emerges as allstar level talent, ingram is ROY, randle receives a basketball brain from the wiz). kinda rough on clarkson. maybe it was just the frank phrasing.
25 wins isn't out of the question...though I expect us to be competitive in all games. Last year, we rolled over way too much and depended on 24 to bail us out. Tough to fit together a retirement tour and development phase... I still say low to mid thirties.
This was the part that stood out to me. I have been saying Deng should start at the 4, but i hadn't considered Ingram starting with him, that would make for some interesting length on defense.
Agreed. We could range down to 25 wins with some bad luck and then the pick comes back into play. Honestly I'd love to keep the pick. I disagree on his take on Ingram. Dunn over Ingram is just silly. I agree with bits about Randle, but I've been encouraged already early in the year with his progress making reads. All the criticisms about his offensive effectiveness are still fair since he can't shoot and he often forces the ball in traffic.
Yeah, I don't disagree with a lot of things he said, but Dunn over Ingram? No. Also think that the rip on Clarkson is unfair. He's improved defensively and is a versatile scorer and not a one trick pony. I think it's very difficult to gauge how many wins we get this season. I would hope it would be more than 25 and closer to 32 but you never know. Regardless I'm excited about our young players, new coaching staff and rebuilding and rebounding after last year's disastrous record and vibe. 25 wins would be a good improvement. Of course 30 to 34 would be pretty amazing.
The Clarkson thing is also stupid. Remember two seasons ago when he did a lot more ball handling? He averaged 5 assists per 36 minutes, and he finished second on the team in assists. It's not that he has blinders on; he's playing a different role.
I'll just echo the Dunn thing. He's years older than Ingram, and Ingram has so much potential and the ability to play multiple positions, no way I take him at 2 over Brandon. Most other front office personnel and fans would have mocked us mercilessly had we done that, like they did and some still do about taking Russ over Okafor. We needed a SF though, one that could shoot and fit into Luke'a system, Ingram fit that perfectly, you can't make any other pick.
i thought the okafor/russell thing was generally over...i mean, it should be... i'm guessing the dunn/ingram thing will be over by next year, too.
Apparently it's not with the national sports media and other Laker forums. It's over for me, but I don't think these media folks watch enough of Russ to fully judge him. Okafor may still be great, but in today's NBA I'll take a scoring guard with Russ's talent over a slow big that can't really defend in an increasingly small ball league. Maybe the cycle goes around again and big men become the more important players, but if that happens it would seem Anthony Davis and Towns are the type that would be what people want, not an Okafor.
I guess the stench from last year is still strong. Honestly I believe (well more like hope) the Lakers finish higher than bottom three in the league. I'm hoping for a best case scenario where they finish the season sniffing the playoffs. But at the very least I want to see them win at least double the win total of last season.
I think he's way off on Ingram. Yes hes skinny, but I wouldnt be so quick to say he's lacking in strength. Of course he has to get stronger, but that will literally get better by the day. 19 years old. He was getting shots off on Draymond, Iggy and Durant in his last game. I'll concede it's garbage time and the preseason, but Kerr put those starters back in from rest. Take Dunn over Ingram in a league where the PG position is literally the most abundant in talent? Yeah, ok guy... I'm as desperate as any other fan for Randle to pan out, but was probably his most accurate assessment so far. Hate to admit it. I'm hoping we hit 30 wins and I don't think that's unrealistic. We put up 17 wins with the Kobe Show and counter productive coaching. edit - typo
"Going from Kareem and Shaq to Mozgov is the type of thing that will make Lakers fans roll their eyes" Barbershop "scouting" at its finest
