Lakers News: Luke Walton Praises Jordan Clarkson, Discusses Luol Deng's Role

The Los Angeles Lakers are 1-2 through their first three games ahead of Wednesday's matchup with the Washington Wizards, but Lakers fans can take some positives away from the team's start.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points in his Lakers debut after serving his two-game suspension. Brandon Ingram is averaging 14.7 points and 3.0 assists. Lonzo Ball had a double-double in his second career game and finished with 13 assists in the 119-112 defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jordan Clarkson's seamless transition into the sixth-man role may be the team's most pleasant surprise so far.

Clarkson only started 19 of his 82 games last year, but his 29.2 minutes per game were the highest on the team. The 25-year-old guard was essentially a bench player in name only.

The additions of Caldwell-Pope and Ball meant Clarkson would be a reserve guard for the Lakers this year. Despite only averaging 21.7 minutes, Clarkson's scoring average has climbed from 14.7 points per game to 19.7 points. He's also shooting 51.1 percent from the floor and has connected on seven of his 14 three-point attempts.

"What I'm most proud about with Jordan is he's sticking with it," Lakers head coach Luke Walton said, per the Orange County Register's Bill Oram. "He was struggling in training camp, and he was struggling in the preseason. He's just kept working and working, he just keeps working. He's had some nice successful nights so far since the season's started." 

Becoming a sixth man suits Clarkson well and works better for the Lakers than expecting him to be one of the two starters in the backcourt.

The past two seasons have illustrated Clarkson's limitations when he plays 30 minutes a night.

During that time, he shot 33.7 percent from beyond the arc and turned the ball over 1.9 times per game compared to 2.5 assists. According to NBA.com, the Lakers had a minus-8.9 rating per 100 possessions when Clarkson was on the floor in 2016-17 and a minus-13.1 net rating in 2015-16.

As a reserve, on the other hand, Clarkson can feast on second units. His defensive issues are less of a liability for Los Angeles as well since he's not constantly guarding starting point guards.

Ball is a large part of the Lakers' long-term future, and the same may be said about Caldwell-Pope if the team wants to re-sign him after this season.

Whereas trading Clarkson seemed like a logical move in the offseason given the Lakers' backcourt logjam, he's making himself an invaluable member of the team's rotation.

The exact opposite is true of Luol Deng, who has played the fewest minutes (13) of any Lakers player this season. Walton was blunt about where he sees Deng fitting in this year, saying the 32-year-old won't be a regular role player "without something happening," per Oram.

"We've talked. It's 82 games," Walton said. "There's a lot that's going to change, but for right now we've asked him to stay sharp, to keep working to stay ready for when he gets called on and continue mentoring our young players."

The four-year, $72 million deal the Lakers gave Deng was puzzling when it was announced, and it looks even worse in retrospect. Deng is earning a little under $17.2 million this year and isn't even assured of a spot on the bench.

Give Los Angeles credit, though. Rather than playing Deng to prove a point or show his contract wasn't a mistake, the team is content to focus more on the development of its young frontcourt. Ingram in particular should benefit with a larger role in his second season.

Based on Walton's comments, Deng is unlikely to see out the remainder of his contract with the Lakers, and the only question is whether the team can deal him before this year's trade deadline or will wait until the offseason.