End-of-Season Grades for Each LA Lakers Player
The Los Angeles Lakers’ season has not officially ended, but it is doubtful any epiphanies are yet in store.
Hence, the bequeathing of end-of-season report card grades for each player on a team suffering its worst season ever.
Do not expect a blizzard of doom, gloom and failing marks, however. This is a roster with a young and promising core. It is also a squad that has not been guided to its best potential by current head coach Byron Scott.
Better days are surely ahead for the Purple and Gold—an offseason of re-evaluation, roster building and a fresh start in the fall.
The Rest of the Reserves
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Metta World Peace
Metta World Peace’s minutes have fluctuated wildly this season—20 minutes one night and none the next. But while he’s well past his prime, the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year always provides an aggressive commitment. He has also worked as a mentor for younger players and has been a positive influence during a difficult season.
GRADE: C+
Robert Sacre
If there’s an easy target for low-achieving players, it’s Robert Sacre. The 7’0” utility center rarely gets into a game (12.7 minutes per game) and doesn’t have much aptitude for rebounding or shot blocking. The Lakers’ 60th draft pick in 2012 will be an unrestricted free agent this summer—it’s doubtful he’ll be invited back.
GRADE: D
Ryan Kelly
Ryan Kelly was a pleasant surprise during his rookie season under Mike D’Antoni. But the stretch 4 has been used inconsistently and unsuccessfully by Byron Scott for the past two years. The former Duke champion averaged 27 points when assigned to the NBA D-League for seven games this season, but subsequent appearances for the Lakers have been woefully inadequate (4.4 points per game).
GRADE: D+
Anthony Brown
L.A.’s 34th pick last June, Anthony Brown has a reputation as a three-and-D wing. But the Stanford graduate converted just 28.6 percent of his long-range shots over 29 games, before a right foot injury derailed the rest of his rookie campaign. So far, he’s a prospect with a small sample size.
GRADE: C
Tarik Black
The Lakers picked up Tarik Black off waivers from the Houston Rockets last season. The undrafted rookie big showed promise at the time but hasn’t gotten off the bench much in his second year. He’s better than the numbers show, however, with energy on both ends of the court and a flair for finishing hard at the rim off the pick-and-roll.
GRADE: B-
Key Reserves
2 of 7
Marcelo Huertas
32-year-old Marcelo Huertas' rookie season might have been a complete bust had it not been for a hamstring injury to Lou Williams in early March. Huertas filled in admirably during that five-game stretch, leading to steady minutes ever since.
A longtime star overseas, Huertas is a classic pass-first point guard with the ability to instantly organize and command an offense. Yes, he has some defensive shortcomings. But his cagey instincts and playmaking abilities add value to a team that too often lacks on-floor unity.
GRADE: B-
Brandon Bass
Brandon Bass has been a model of consistency for the Lakers this season. The undersized 6’8” center and power forward doesn’t get the same minutes as he did in his heyday with the Boston Celtics, but he’s filling a different role these days—as a steady veteran hand and a guiding presence for younger players. The 30-year-old can opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent, but he hasn’t yet decided, as reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
“I think I can help develop these young guys,” Bass said. “I want them to be successful. I would love to see them grow and would love it to be here. But you never know what happens.”
GRADE: B
Lou Williams
You always know what you’re going to get from Lou Williams: buckets. The Lakers signed the 6’1” combo guard as a free agent last summer, and Scott has used him in a variety of ways: as a starter, a sixth man and in both guard positions.
The fluctuating roles haven’t fazed Williams one bit. He just keeps scoring the ball (15.3 PPG), whether it’s nailing high-release jumpers or driving to the hole and often collecting the and-1.
GRADE: B+
Nick Young
Nick Young has bottomed up, averaging a career-low 7.3 points per game this season. At issue has been his increasing rift with Scott. That situation has been further complicated by Young's recent video imbroglio with teammate D’Angelo Russell.
The veteran wing hasn’t gotten off the pine for the last 11 games. Scott said Young is “not here with us mentally” on Monday, per Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
But as Medina also pointed out, Young “looked joyful during Monday's practice.” This is a player who is simply not a part of his coach’s game plan, whatever the reason.
GRADE: C-
Larry Nance Jr.
Larry Nance Jr. is a gamer. Despite dealing with lingering soreness in his right knee (the same one he had surgery on in 2014), the rookie forward has been a high-energy and highly adaptable core roster component. Last June's No. 27 draft pick out of Wyoming, Nance Jr. has started 22 out of 58 games, playing center, power forward and even some minutes at the small forward position.
The 6’9” 23-year-old has a high motor, good court awareness and is working on his sometimes tentative jump shot. It will be interesting to see how the Lakers choose to use him next season.
GRADE: B+
Roy Hibbert, C
3 of 7
Roy Hibbert will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but his market value has dropped precipitously. The 7’2” center is averaging just 6.2 points and five rebounds, even though he's started every one of his 75 games.
The man-mountain can still step it up every now and then—his 12 points, nine boards and three blocks in a tight win against the Miami Heat Wednesday night was one of his best efforts of the season.
But the throwback moments have become increasingly rare, a troubling sign for a 29-year-old who should still be in his prime. Hibbert was once one of the most feared defenders in the league, but the writing was on the wall when the Indiana Pacers unloaded his contract last summer in exchange for a future second-round draft pick.
The Lakers had hoped to shore up their leaky defense with Hibbert’s arrival, but the experiment simply hasn’t worked. And while that failure rightfully rests on the team as a whole, the two-time All-Star hasn’t come close to earning his $15.6 million salary.
It’s time to say goodbye to Big Roy, and find a replacement with a full tank of gas.
GRADE: C-
D’Angelo Russell, PG
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As last year’s second overall draft pick, Russell arrived in Los Angeles with high expectations. The 20-year-old has fallen short of what many might have hoped for. But he certainly isn’t a bust by any stretch of the imagination.
Russell’s uneven development has included the challenges of uncertainty—being pulled from the starting lineup for 32 games and then thrust back in. He has also been used at both point positions while learning the NBA's ropes and trying to absorb Scott’s interpretation of the Princeton offense.
And then there’s the question of judgement, a legitimate part of any report card grade. It is hard to avoid the recent news of Russell’s video outing Young’s purported indiscretions. And without dwelling further on the unfortunate episode, it certainly stands as a colossal rookie blunder.
That incident will fade in time, and Russell will continue to learn, both on the court and off. He is a talented player with star potential but also a work in progress.
Russell’s assets as a player include an innate ability to read defenses, great hand-eye coordination, a quick and effortless shot release and excellent length at 6’5” with a 6'9" wingspan. He’s best suited to the pick-and-roll and would fare better with a more modern head coach.
The one-and-done wunderkind from Ohio State didn’t have the season he would have hoped for. But he’ll have a long and successful career ahead if he fully dedicates himself and learns from his mistakes.
GRADE: B+
Julius Randle, PF
5 of 7
Julius Randle put his head down and worked hard this season. And it’s paying off.
After missing all but 14 minutes of his rookie campaign with a broken leg, the 6’9” power forward from Kentucky entered his sophomore year with a strong desire to regain lost momentum.
But in a strange parallel to Russell’s situation, Randle found himself pulled from the starting lineup in early December. It was yet another example of Scott’s tough-love attitude toward his youngest players. Despite his obvious frustration, Randle kept playing hard and began working with Lakers shooting coach Tracy Murray.
Randle has also been the recipient of mentorship from World Peace since the summer. Appearing on Lakers Voices with Mike Trudell (transcription by NBA.com's Joey Ramirez), World Peace spoke about the young power forward’s huge upside.
“I think he’ll be at his prime in maybe two years,” World Peace said. “You’re gonna see big games out of him. … That’s impressive for him to have so much upside. I think he can be a 25-point per night guy, easily.”
There’s a lot to like about Randle’s game. He plays hard, has a great handle on the ball, can romp through traffic coast-to-coast and has that radar-like ability to track and snag rebounds. He had nine double-doubles in March, as well as his first career triple-double. Those numbers alone speak volumes.
There’s still room for improvement—Randle can lose track of his man defensively and doesn’t recover fast enough. But if World Peace’s predictions are correct, this is a guy with a very bright future ahead.
GRADE: A-
Jordan Clarkson, SG
6 of 7
The Jordan Clarkson story is familiar to all Lakers fans by now. The second-round 2014 draft pick had a Cinderella first year, moving into the starting point guard position midseason, capped off by All-Rookie First Team honors.
And he showed it wasn’t a fluke as a sophomore, starting every game and averaging 15.5 points, four boards, 2.5 dimes and 1.1 steals per game.
Clarkson’s one statistical area of regression has been his assists, dipping from 3.5 last season (and those occurring through substantially fewer minutes). But much of that his to do with changing roles. The 23-year-old is mostly used as a shooting guard now, rather than a facilitator.
It would have been interesting to watch Clarkson’s continued development at the point, where his 6’5” height and blow-by speed make for lopsided matchups. But regardless, his backcourt pairing with Russell has yielded promising, if uneven, results so far.
Lakers management has a decision to make during the offseason, as Clarkson will be a restricted free agent. They should reward his efforts and progress with a big raise and a long-term contract.
GRADE: A
Kobe Bryant, SF
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It seems a shame to assign a report card grade to one of the NBA’s all-time greats, based only on his 20th and final season, because Kobe Bryant is not the player he once was—Father Time and a litany of injuries have made sure of that.
A five-time NBA champion, 18-time All-Star, the league’s third-highest scorer and the Lakers’ all-time scoring leader, Bryant has seen it all and done it all. But the post-Phil Jackson years have been difficult, playing for a succession of head coaches who haven’t delivered and rosters that have been both transient and increasingly inexperienced.
He can’t always suit up due to the aches and pains of all his damaged body parts. And there are games when he just can’t seem to buy a basket (the shoulder that was operated on last year certainly plays a part in that). But despite the many challenges, Bryant is still the team’s leading average point-getter this season (16.9).
It may not have been the triumphant last chapter he would have preferred, but as Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver writes, Bryant isn’t voicing regrets.
“I’ve been fortunate to play for 20 years,” Bryant said. “I’ve left nothing on the table. I’m comfortable with that. It’s not a sad day. It’s not a ‘Wish I could do more’ day. It’s great. It’s fantastic.”
Squint your eyes every now and then, and you’ll catch a glimpse of the Mamba of old with his impeccable footwork, superb pump-fakery and dazzling fall-away jumpers. The fierce determination and countless tricks of the trade still leave opponents flat-footed and slack-jawed.
There are only a handful of games left now in Bryant’s legendary career. His grades may have slipped a bit toward the end, but he has always been one of the most dedicated students of the game.
GRADE: A-
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