Eight months after D'Angelo Russell entered the world, Kobe Bryant entered the NBA.
Russell will not be ready overnight, and that should be easy to understand considering the no. 2 pick is only 19 years old. Still, the rookie underwhelmed in his first test as a Laker. Based on the Summer League, Russell should enter training camp as the backup point guard with Jordan Clarkson further securing a starting spot with his strong play in Las Vegas.
Bringing Russell in off the bench is the correct play to start the season. Consider the overreaction if Russell starts the regular season with 20 turnovers in his first three games, which is the number he tabbed to start the Summer League. At age 19, even Kobe Bryant was not starting in the NBA, and it is understandable that Russell's body still needs time to develop. Even if the hope and plan is to promote Russell as the future star of the franchise, the Lakers should practice patience and ease the youngster along.
On Friday afternoon, the Lakers play a consolation game against the Utah Jazz before packing up and heading home from Las Vegas. While extrapolating anything from Summer League may be a bit premature, the Lakers fumbled an opportunity to capitalize on the excitement surrounding this youthful project.
LA sent a stacked team to Las Vegas with eight Summer League players expected to make the Lakers' opening night roster: Tarik Black, Jabari Brown, Julius Randle, Anthony Brown, Larry Nance Jr., Robert Upshaw, Clarkson and Russell. Even with a superior level of talent, the Lakers only managed one win in three games and a first round exit out of the tournament phase. The consolation game against the Utah Jazz is not entirely worthless, but it is essentially an exhibition contest with both teams heading home after the buzzer. Even with a victory, the Lakers' 2015 Summer League will go down as a disappointment.
In terms of positives, Russell did show glimpses into his special passing ability in Monday's loss to the Dallas Mavericks, but the rookie's shot did not fall with any regularity. The transition from the college three-point line appeared to especially trouble the youngster, as he shot 1-13 from beyond the arc through the first four games of the Summer League. Generally considered the best shooter in his draft class, Russell should understand that he needs to spend significant time practicing the long ball.
Beyond Russell, Randle also struggled to shake off the rust in his first three appearances. Coming off a broken leg and foot surgery, the Lakers capped Randle at 20 minute, which did not allow the 20-year-old to find his rhythm in his first couple appearances. Like Russell, Randle looked better in the Lakers' loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. In that loss, Randle finished with 17 points and showed that he could take the ball coast-to-coast, hit a 15-foot jump shot and take his opposition off the dribble.
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Without a doubt, though, Clarkson looked like the Lakers' best player in Las Vegas. Through four games, Clarkson averaged 18.0 points per game and appeared to have further improved from a season ago. Clarkson's lowly 1.5 assists per game would be troubling if Summer League was not notorious for individual 1-on-1 play. Clarkson's former college teammate Jabari Brown, who missed the first two games with an eye injury, also looked sharp in the scoring department. Brown notched 20 points against the New York Knicks on Monday and 19 points against the Mavericks on Wednesday.
Nance, Brown and Upshaw all showed signs, but the trio exhibited inconsistencies that would be expected from rookies.
While the argument that Summer League is ultimately meaningless is more right than wrong, the Lakers blew a big opportunity and wildly underachieved considering the squad that dressed in purple and gold. Fortunately, training camp is still over two months away, and none of these rookies should have any illusions that they can immediately adjust to life in the NBA without putting in plenty of hard work to improve.
The Lakers and Jazz tip-off at 3:30 pm Pacific Time.
