Jake LaRavia Discussion: Lah-Rave-E-Ya!

I like this sign a lot. He's a good NBA player with interesting defensive skills, he can make 3s and he's very smart in off the ball movements. And he's young too, with an interesting contract.

Our bench in the last season has been bottom 5 of the league: LaRavia and Thiero could become two important pieces to make our bench better and modern.

 

lol, he attempted ten (10) midrange shots last year.

the more i see of him on defense, the more i like it. we're going to have to get it done as a team defense, and he functions great within a system, imo. same on offense. understands his strengths and weaknesses and optimizes.

he doesn't address an obvious need, but i'm pretty sure he's going to outperform his contract and his presence will probably allow us to move other players to address more obvious needs.

 

If they keep Rui which they should I think LaRivia does fit a need IMO. DFS/Rui/Lebron were all 4's- Lebron obviously has the most flexibility on offense and defense but they all come at with the same type of pace. Add in Luka who moves like a glacier and the Lakers needed a wing who can move particularly off ball just quicker.

I think an underrated reason Indiana was such a load was that they had guys at every height who could attack you with pace. Thinking through that type of team building: Lakers really need now Nesmith and McConnell roleplayer archetype to complete the roster.

 

Didn't realize this at first, but he's actually younger than Dalton. Seems clear that he's a Dalton replacement with maybe a lower ceiling, but a higher floor. Looking forward to seeing how he fits in.

 

JJ Reddick really liked DFS game. So for the Lakers to let him go, Reddick must really like this kid

 

Definitely starting to feel like LaRavia might be a replacement for Knecht..
He’s a bit taller & bigger, shot 42% from 3pt last season & is a very good perimeter defender.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see Knecht in a trade package sometime soon.

Optimistic about LaRavia. Hadn’t really heard of him before.

 

i knew of him, but admittedly was pretty ignorant of the fact that he was a plus defensive player.

 

We still need a DFS replacement. The issue with DFS wasn't his fit. He got a longer term deal from the Rockets that the Lakers wouldn't match because they want to keep the books clean for 2027.

 

I can't see a future in purple & gold for Dalton after the trade with Charlotte: that move has been so explicit about the wishes of our FO and their considerations about the player.

LaRavia is a different player, in my opinion.
Dalton in Tennessee has been a great volume scorer, with a lot of ball possessions for him to pump the ball and make shots on his own. He's not a catch and shoot player, he has interesting off the ball movement but he needs more offensive volume to show his skills. And he's not a defensive player, too many lacks on this side.

LaRavia doesn't need the ball and he's a good defender.
In my opinion, Knecht could have become an interesting volume scorer for our 2nd unit if he's been used in a different and better ways; LaRavia, instead, could be an Alex Caruso type project.

 

I actually think it’s more about the length of contract that DFS was demanding. At his age, I’m totally fine with Rob not giving him four years.
However, after watching film on LaRavia, it’s a probably a combination of both.

 

Good breakdown of young Jake:

 

I can't get enough of him. And I'm sorry Rui but this kid should in all objectivity be starting over him the sooner the better. In his contract year that may be too much to swallow, and honestly then fine get something really NICE for Rui, other assets and/or picks and keep Dalton. Who needs to go to school on Jake's defense (if he has the smarts to do it). Or if Rui badly wants to remain a Laker .... sign for an attractive to Lakers extension and be willing to be the 6th man first off the bench to give LeBron his breathers until he retires or leaves, and Rui still play big minutes. You do that to Rui NOT Austin. Then get Melton in here or someone as good to start at the 1 spot for defense, sliding AR to defending the 2 and look the effing H out!! Jake's game is sooo much like AR's it's just sick when you consider how big he is. The smarts. The way he puts the ball on the floor and the fancy stuff there, the Js, the absolute ambidextrous use of left hand at the basket, Rui's ability to "body up" and front even a Jokic as shown in the clip above even earlier in the league which no doubt he's gotten better at. He REBOUNDS! Fans in Memphis described him in terms of leaving it all on the floor with his body and soul every single game .... like we used to and still do in agony watching Alex Caruso play for teams other than the Lakers who made the terrible decision to let him go. I am a HUGE fan already. If Austin Reaves is "sneaky athletic" at his height and weight, then with Jake it's even more so at 6'8" and 235 pounds, especially with the skills he possesses. This clip I'm sure has been posted too probably more than once already, but ought to be on every page of his until we can at the least watch him in pre-season games. Laker fans are going to LOVE him.

 

I don’t know who this cat is. Until he proves himself, he’s just excessive quota to me. You telling me Bron might be playing with 3 white dudes as starters along with Ayton? It’s just new territory is all I’m saying.

and the Knecht and Kleiber off the bench?! We are rewriting the rules for major markets in the NBA!!!

 

Are you going to be annoying all season with the "excessive" quota schtick?



Watch his tape and acquaint yourself and form an opinion. How bout that?

 

Dude is a scrub, Devean George is his ceiling.

 

Lebron teams have too much roster turnover every year for me to care about everyone that passes through here. All that matters is how they play for us. Highlight tapes look good for everyone. Never seen a bad highlight tape yet.