JC didn't start playing til 9th grade? Wow. Ran track in TX, but tired of running circles in TX heat. Just coming from the gym and napped in car while his guys drove. His shy, seems less than comfortable on camera and in interviews. Was in the middle with DAR and Swaggy, and was trying work with both guys through it.
I can't believe the Philippine NT chose Blatche instead of JC...naturalized rather than someone who actually has native blood. Andray is paid while JC is free lol... The problem is availability though since JC has a full NBA schedule Edit: I guess it was harder to get him to play at short notice http://www.philstar.com/sports/2016/04/12/1572123/clarkson-wont-play-gilas-fiba-olympic-qualifier
Well the way i see it it sounds as if they are preferring Blatche because its convenient. If they want JC to play they still have to go through the same process with his paperwork, might as well get it over with now during the early stages of qualifying. On a side note im hoping Kobe Paras gets some early playing time during his freshman year at UCLA, Gilas will have some great experience at guard..
I think he's wrong about D'Angelo though. He made it seem like he has no speed which isn't the case at all. Last year he showed he can change speeds and change pace and that's key. Didn't have much of a problem getting by defenders it was more of finishing around the basket. Didn't get his comment about how he can't play off ball because he did that much of the season. He was basically our starting two guard. As for Clarkson I do agree with him for the most part. I love the chip he plays with. He is our most consistent offensive player. He is the most explosive player on this team. He's developed a very well rounded offensive game. Good in pick and roll. Has a floater, mid range game, improved three point shooter, and a great finisher around the rim something the other two need to work on. He has that athleticism to be a very good defender. Just needs to refine his technique. It'll be nice that we'll have a coach who will have assistants that'll work with him and improving that defensive technique and posture and not just telling him to man up or show pride. I think Clarkson's ceiling is a two or three time All Star. His floor is a really good sixth man. He's playing in the West so it's hard to see him being a perennial All Star in this conference. Either way hell of a find. JC is gonna be a really good player for a long time.
Wow Nick. Don't sugar coat your Lakers takes on what or how good we can be ...so much. That ... was like we'll never get there even after the big additions, with the young talent we have now ..... before they have to start breaking up the team for contracts. Yeah and he likes JC a lot. DAR seems like he could be gone and it wouldn't bother Nick much at the end. Not what he said. Randle. Likes his strength but raw. Nance his energy but raw. Like's DAR's vision but he's slow so could be problem in future. Doesn't like him off ball because he's not quick enough. OUT.
Yeah that made no sense. Okay he likes Clarkson and Randle, but Russell will be on the outside looking in? Why would he be? There's no reason we can't keep them together.
Agreed on Clarkson, but his takes on the rest of the young guns make me wonder if Nick watched even less Lakers games this past season than I did...
I value most of the posters on this board's opinion on our players more than I do the experts or media types. In the end we watched this s--- show night in and night out. Most opinions from all the experts, ex-players, etc are based on 5-10 minutes of watching them, or the little write up Hoopshype has on a player. I don't necessarily fault them for it because there are only so many hours in a day and they can't possibly watch everything, and given the choice, they are watching Warriors, OKC, Cavs, etc.
Good. I really like having Filipino blood in my Lakers plus the fact that he can wear the national colors in the future.
I love JC's mentality and work ethic. It'd be very easy for someone who was a second round pick and had the individual success that he's had to get a big head and stop working and he's done the opposite. I like how he's working on specific parts of his game. He's not just trying to be a better shooter or a better defender. He's trying to be a more well rounded under control, more fundamentally sound player on offense, more disciplined, more aware, more in tune, and refined player on defense. It's very encouraging how much JC likes working and playing this game. You always worry about guys who don't have that passion even if they have lots of natural ability and Jordan isn't one of those guys. I've been hard on him, but my eyes were opened reading that article. I didn't realize just how committed he is. He wants to be great and he's not just talking about it he's putting that work in. As a Lakers fan I LOVE that kind of player. He doesn't wanna be that guy who doesn't fulfill his talent or potential he wants to be that guy that got everything from his ability and goes on to have a great career. Ultimately despite all of us have talked about Byron's influence on these guys I haven't seen any of them bring that up realizing they have a lot of work to do personally to get better. Jordan wants to be part of this young core and he's as big a part as anyone is right now. He genuinely loves being a Los Angeles Laker. What he's doing right now trying to become a great all around player really just gets me that more excited for next season. I don't expect him or D'Lo or Julius to be lock down defenders next season, but if they can just improve to the point where they aren't constantly ball watching, can stay in between their man and the basket, and just limit the fundamental mistakes then we will be much better next season. My tune is starting to completely change. I wanna build around JC, Julius, D'Angelo, Nance Jr, and Ingram/Simmons/Bender. I'd rather fill the roster out with veterans rather than give out two max deals. Let's get this train rolling. I've been guilty of not viewing JC in the same boat as Randle and Russell, but he is right now. The others may still have a higher ceiling, but Clarkson is the most experienced and complete of this group. I don't think he's just Monta Ellis. He wants to be more than that and I believe he will be more. We need all of these guys. We need Russell and Clarkson to be able to play alongside each other and develop a good rapport. We need Randle to be a presence down low on both sides of the ball. We need all of them to improve. Need them to grow together. We can be the next OKC, the next Golden State. We have the pieces in place. We just need to play our cards right.
