Because Lonzo is right now, in my opinion, already better than Ingram. Lonzo impacts the game in more ways than BI does; he's a better rebounder, better passer, better defender. The only thing BI does better than Lonzo right now is shoot/score more efficiently. What's interesting to me is how quickly everyone forgot about BI's awful efficiency as a rookie. I don't say any of this as a shot at BI, he's maybe my favorite Laker youngster of the four given his all around natural ability and mentality, but Lonzo is the most natural basketball player we've had in a long time.
And he fits better around other stars because of the multiple ways he can impact the game; so the answer is I keep Zo if I had to keep 1 player.
Not just impact the game, but impact it without having a high usage%. I can't think of any other player that racks up his assist numbers with such a low usage%.
I get all that and agree and with whom we hope to have coming, but leaving this artificially mandated choice out of the equation, just take issue with a "far better" player as opposed to much better choice or even a better player. With reasonably expected improvement coming from Lonzo and BI both this summer. Those numbers shooting for Lonzo that give hope were of course against college competition vs. what happens in the pros now.
Again, it's my opinion that Lonzo is already better. Let's say Lonzo improves in efficiency similar to BI. BI jumped 7% from the field, 10% from deep,4% from 2p, and 6% from the line. Let's say Lonzo gains 5% from the field, 5% from deep, 3% from 2p, and 15% from the line (that's the easiest to fix). That puts his shooting splits at 40/35/60. That's still not great, but his TS% would be at exactly 50% which is solid. Add that to his passing ability and his stellar defense and he's one of the best PGs in the game. I think improves like that are all reasonable and easily attainable with the exception of his FT%, but he shot 67% from the FT in college, so the astronomically low FT% seems more of an aberration to me than anything else.
Great post .... agree. Just feel "a much better choice than" or a "better player than BI" is more accurate than "a much better player" than BI at this point in time. BI may be Kobe like and just outwork him too. It's a great situation to be in because this thread should not have been forced upon us.
It's definitely funny because I know this comes off as me saying BI isn't that great. I've liked BI's instincts as well from day one, I just see something in Lonzo that I haven't seen in a long, long time. Lonzo isn't without his blemishes, but I think many fans, Laker fans included, sort of overlook exactly what Lonzo was able to do this season. I think BI is going to be really, really good as well. It's a good problem to have with both of them on the roster. I'm eager to see if Lonzo can prove me right this summer. If he comes back and by December his efficiency hasn't improved across the board, I'll be the first in line saying he didn't do enough work this summer and that BI is the better prospect.
Early in the season while I was watching ... every game Lonzo to me was moving pretty damn well laterally and doing well with his man but knowing his good but nothing to shout about defensive reputation I figured maybe I was seeing what I wanted to see since no one else was much saying anything about it. There was then and all season as well those lightning quick and smart / athletic movements. Before we realized he had also been to the Boing Vert academy. He's going to be a beast in his upper body you can see the frame and definition starting already and certainly the trainers will concentrate on his lower body and core.
I had this impression last year of Randle going Rocky 1 with his training regimen and surroundings. If some of these guys were smart they might want to use JR's guy. But the UCLA Lakers complex I'm sure is a lot more fun.
LOL exactly. No chickens but not far off. Photos were better lit. .... on his glistening young ripped body. Can't wait for trodgers's Lakers players run down for this year. Been awhile since he's salivated over young men.
There can only be one! Coming in from the cold to tell ya young whippersnappers to go with the guy who has the best court vision and makes everyone around him better. That's Zo. My rationale is that (1), he is a true two-way player; (2), he's better at making his teammates better than any other player on the roster; and (3), none of the other 3 are clearly better than him. This is like having that debate in the 80's: Magic and anyone else. Don't get me wrong, I loved Kareem and Worthy, but if I was forced to keep just one player from those teams, it would have to be Magic, hands down. Lonzo is already fantastically talented when it comes to floor awareness on both sides of the ball. Which is why he was such an effective defender in addition to being a star level playmaker even though we don't think of him as particularly quick. People look at Utah's Mitchell and Boston's Tatum, but Zo has already turned out to be the correct pick AFAIC. Plus he will be the perfect fit next to whichever superstar scorers come here. Now back to my previously scheduled programming .... see y'all in the fall, maybe ...
I think personally, Kuzma has a better chance of being in the same mold as Glen "Big Dog" Robinson (who made 2 all-star games btw) than to be a perennial all-star or something. Even a guy like Paul George who is a fringe all-star player is a lot more multi-faceted than Kuzma. He isn't all that athletic or a particularly good defender, shooter or playmaker/ballhandler/facilitator. He is just a very good and versatile scorer with a bunch of moves and great footwork. In order for him to be an all-star level player, he needs at least one more elite capability except scoring OR be above average at those facets of the game. Right now I'm not too positive. Hopefully he will prove me wrong.
Y’know, I hope he works on those things this offseason. And y’know, he like grabbed more boards and played better ummm defense when challenged to. So y’know, I’m hopeful.
