Lakers End of Year Report Cards

[secondroundbust]

As we transition from regular season into postseason and then to offseason, I took a bit of time to evaluate the guys who were with us to end the season, and look forward to the next year.

Point Guards:
Ky Bowman - B+

One of the more polarizing players in the league due to his discrepancy in effectiveness on either side of the ball. Not as efficient this year as I had hoped, but still earned himself an All Star selection, and was our most prolific scorer by a mile. I'll be interested to see how he can help the development of Mobley and how their two man game can progress if he stays with us through the offseason.

Jason Preston - B

Bit of a high grade but in comparison to the expectations I had for him when I took over, very happily surprised. He takes care of the ball well and spreads it around like a true point guard. Low usage with good shooting splits, hopefully will develop into a key guy coming off the bench for us going forward.

Shooting Guards:

Johnny Davis - D

Didn't give him much of an opportunity this year so he gets this as a default grade, the highlight for him was the potential boost.

David Duke Jr. - C

Another guy we didn't give too much of a consistent opportunity. I like his scoring rating so hopefully can turn into a sparkplug guy off the bench for us but shooting has to improve.

Josh Okogie - C-

Joined us in the FVV trade and another guy that didn't see the floor much for us, possibly a misuse on our end as I think he has the ratings to help a better team, and still is young enough, just doesn't fit a role with what we're going to be trying to do going forward.

Landry Shamet - B+

Another guy who would be better suited on a playoff team. But really liked what he's given us this year shooting just under 40% from behind the arc. Not a liability on defense and hovers around the 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. Would have liked him to shoot a some more 3's if I had to choose one gripe with him.

Lonnie Walker - C

Brought him in to add some defensive depth to our back court, and actually has one of the better on/off ratings on our team. His shooting was not up to par for us this year unfortunately so it restricted his playtime.

Small Forwards:

Aaron Nesmith - C

He's someone I had a bit higher hopes for, and went quiet a lot of the games, but still as a rookie he was servicable and I have no doubt he'll develop into a high level 3&D guy for us.

Caleb Martin - B+

Quietly has been one of our best players this year. Moved him to the bench to give some other guys opportunities, and he has taken that new role and ran with it. Averaged double digits for the 2nd time in his career, and was a solid defender. At 27 not sure if he'll be in our plans but had a great year for us.

Metecan Birsen - C-

Hoped for a bit more from him this year but he never really found his footing. Not going to give up on him as I think he has the ratings to be a real solid player for us in the future, but would have liked a bit better showing from him!

Power Forwards:

Rui Hachimura - A

One of those guys that can impact a game without scoring. In my (biased) opinion he's the DPOY and I'll die on that hill. A rebounding and defensive machine who can still put the ball in the bucket at a sufficient rate. Didn't think much of him when I first joined the CSL but as I learned a bit more about the league my appreciation for him skyrocketed. The (jokingly) reigning, defending, undisputed Jovic Stopper.

Robert Woodard - C

Been a bit of an after thought for us this year. Decent in many ratings but doesn't really specialize or excel in any. Got some more playing time after we slid Rui to the 3, as we had a thin front court rotation. Would need to seriously improve his FG% to warrant more minutes next year. But that more or less goes for most of the team.

Centers:

Evan Mobley - B

I can see why GM's and Owners in the NBA get attached to their players and are hesitant to move and kickstart rebuilds. Despite Mobley being incredibly raw, I can't see many players in the league I would move him for. Which I know is not a smart decision, but I can't wait to see how he develops and leads us going forward. Hopefully a Laker for life. But in all seriousness, some really exciting games, followed by some seriously frustrating ones. Tried to put the ball into his hands a bit more, but was tough with Bowman on the court. Nevertheless, a really exciting second half of the season for him, and finding the right partner for him in the front court both in abilities and age, will be one of our priorities in the near future.

Nicolo Melli - B

Someone had to sacrifice to increase Mobley's opportunities, and that someone was Melli in the second half of the season. Not much I can complain about, he goes missing in the odd game, but for the most part he has been a very consistent threat and a good compliment to Mobley's inside scoring. Just barely missed out on shooting 40% from 3, our next challenge will be increasing his volume whilst not hurting our other guys' shot count.

Herve Kabasele - C

Not much to say. Picked him up for some rebounding and Big Man depth, and he was decent in what ended up being the garbage part of the season. Solid rebounding for us and definitely tried to take his chances to shine as he shot a fair amount in the games he did end up playing whilst coming off the bench.

2031 Draft Picks: - F

Damn it.

There you have it! Looking forward to the offseason and continuing the rebuild in Hollywood! Goodluck to those in the playoffs and as always thanks for taking the time to read!

[Flaming Homer]

You are putting already a lot of time and energy in this roster and that will pay off!

Mobley and his development is obvious the central player so far. But after this off-season you also have control over your picks and you can add fitting players around him.

I'm a big fan of Melli and Rui and I'm sure a team will be willing to trade for them and hopefully give you some more draft capital.

[Marcos_Beck]

Not having the pick sucks but it's never your fault, nothing to be done here.
The effort and excitement you have will pay off in the long run!

Keep doing a nice job and learning more about the CSL and in 3-4 years you'll be at the top with the best of them!

[Andrewu91]

Top 3 of our newest members this season . This fella will do well in the league. From offering (Bender for Rui which at the time seamed reasonable,) for Rui, when Rul looked overrated, to Turn Rui into a beast that I'm still after offering Allen, #18 + for him lol. I missed out.

But whatever route you go, you seem like a good GM who can also compete in this league.

[hardenwithnod]

As others have said above, you have done a fantastic job since joining the league. Keep up the good work man! I think it will be much easier to really have a rebuild plan in place as you will have your pick next season, and I am excited to see what kind of moves will you make to shape this LA team into your own.

[GreenBear]

I echo what the others have said about you being a really great addition to the CSL. The Lakers were not in a great spot due to the Kings owning their pick this year, but that’s no fault of your own. You still have several more years in what will be a painful rebuild, but you do have a couple promising young guys to start building on. I think you have the right idea of seeing what’s out there for guys like Bowman and Rui and going from there. Looking forward to seeing great things from you and the Lakers in the coming years

[Stockton12]

Yeah trading the pick was my fault but I had them close to the playoffs . I think the lakers lacked depth this year but that was due to them not having a gm .

You have a good team here and you have brought out the best in rui , Not even I could do that and your a great gm .

Keep building the team the way you want .

[rh0xxy]

Trade me Rui, you'll be just fine.

[bt]

Yeah, absolutely all of the above. Great to have you at the helm of the Lakers and from our chats, an all around good guy.

Unfortunately the pick situation is what it is but you know the direction you want to head and you'll have a lot of fun transforming the team. It probably does make sense to move Rui and Bowman on and build around Mobley so be interesting to see how you do that.

I actually never traded for your pick directly off the Lakers either. The Hawks had it and Andre and I did a swap of his for the Lakers as he wanted to rebuild. I had no idea it would end up like this, not sure what that Hawks pick ended up either. Just luck of the draw sometimes.

[Andrewu91]

I'll be first to say keep Rui, Bowman and Mobley.. All still young and enough to compete with a few moves you make. I checked your record after you took over and you did compete and got close to 500. No reason to split the core up. Keep adding.

I know the sharks are probably mad at me for saying that lol

[secondroundbust]

Thanks all for the kind words! This first season has been more fun than I expected to have and I'm continually impressed by everyone's commitment and the level of depth that this league goes to. Thanks everyone for being so welcoming and helpful with me!

[mgtr81]

I agree with the others, you have been a great addition. As for the team, the most important thing is to have a plan and stick to it. It seems your first season may have given you enough information about your players to decide which way to go.

[KW]

Ky/Rui/Mobley is a great young/youngish trio. The Lakers are in good hands even without a draft pick this year, just find ways to trim the fat on bench and find some core pieces that fit with those studs.

[Ramcus]

Really happy to see a new GM being as active as you have been. You, secondroundbust, are the type of GM the league is always looking for. I hope to see you continue to grow in the league along with the rest of the scallywags, myself included.

As far as your team goes, I think starting with a rebuilding team is a fantastic way to keep your expectations down to a minimum and give yourself a chance to learn more about the league before making drastic decisions. It is unfortunate that you don't have your draft pick this upcoming offseason, but continuing to learn is certainly the priority. I'm confident you can bring the Lakers, or any team you choose to pick up for that matter, good success. Ky/Rui is an incredible one-way duo, both all-league caliber players in the right setting.