How Lance Stephenson Fits 1) Creativity for himself and others. This of course is Lance's double-edged sword. He is often out of control and makes questionable decisions, but at times he'll dazzle you with something crazy instead of drive you crazy. Here's a couple examples. I have a feeling Lance is going to drive Rondo a little crazy. Rondo is all about making the right, clean decisions and Lance is going to be a complete wildcard on that front. Lance undeniably has the ability to create shots for himself and others, but that cuts both ways as his love taking risks can turn into bad turnovers. He's also good with late clock situations at being able to create some kind of look. 2) Early Offense/Hit Aheads/Transition. One thing that is consistent among all of our additions, in FA and the draft, this summer is that they look for early offense. Lance has the ability to rebound (8 rebounds per36) and immediately look up the floor and drop a great pass to a leaking player. It's an underrated part of what we do and I believe it's something we're going to get into a lot more with this team. Our identity is going to be tough defense and early offense (a modernized Showtime). Looks like these should be there for our guys and Lance can find them. 3) Toughness/Craziness. Teams need a guy like this sometimes. Lance has talent, but more than that, he's unafraid even when he's outclassed. The LeBrons and Kobes of the world actually respect when a guy is unafraid of their challenge and Lance is no different. A guy who is unafraid can come through in big moments or turn the tide when things aren't going well. I don't see this as much different than the Lakers signing Matt Barnes or Ron Artest. 4) Chemistry/Energy. I don't have a gif for this, but Lance generally gets along with his teammates and his fire helps build chemistry behind the scenes. A guy that fights, does the dirty work, isn't afraid of the challenge is going to inspire a lot of energy in his team. Lance and Sabonis developed good chemistry on the court with Sabonis's activity and energy fitting with Lance's. I could see the same from McGee, Hart, maybe Kuzma if Kyle's on the bench. Think about what Corey Brewer did for our young guys in terms of galvanized energy in games when things were slow. Lance is that guy, but with a more varied skill set. All in all, Lance is going to be at times infuriating and at times amazing, but at all times captivating.
Was listening to Pete's podcast yesterday and this was the one move, decision that he doesn't really understand. Between KCP and Hart playing the backup minutes at the 2 and 3 spots I'm not sure where lance fits but his versatility when needed will be helpful...I guess
Everything about how quickly we signed Lance tells me this was a move either requested by LeBron or that the Lakers felt needed to happen. I'm not 100% sure why, but depth is always good.
This was written about him by a Charlotte beat writer after the trade. Lance said this: Lance thought he was being brought in to be a focal point of that offense and it certainly didn't work out that way. Here's some quotes from his time with the Clippers: Here's an article talking about how Lance fit off the bench in Memphis. By all accounts he's a good guy with a weird personality. He's had his most success when coaches give him the green light to make his wild plays. It'll be interesting to see how the Lakers treat him, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
Interesting to hear is take on being the focal point of the offense. Wonder what Magic and co sold to him about coming to the Lakers...people will probably try and say Lonzo and Rondo will dominant the ball which will frustrate Stephenson, but we all know that they are actually quite the opposite.
We got Ron. And he turned out to be one of the most beloved Lakers ever. He will remain that, forever. I am all for giving chances... Unless your name is LeBron, that is.
