NBA Draft 2011 Grades: Why LA Lakers' Starting Point Guard Will Be Darius Morris
Fact—the LA Lakers will not win another NBA title with Derek Fisher as their starting point guard.
Fisher is the man.
He's a warrior, leader and one of the league's most notable "good guys," but at this point in his career, he's a liability on both ends of the floor. Starting a point guard who puts up a stat-line of 6.8 points and 2.7 assists is disgraceful. Yeah, he does the "little things" on the court that don't show up on a stat sheet like hustle for loose balls and take charges, but opposing guards run circles around him and that doesn't show up on a stat sheet either.
If the Lakers go into the 2011-2012 season with Fisher as their starting point guard they're fools. Chris Paul averaged 15.8 points, 9.8 assists and 4.1 boards a game throughout the regular season. In the playoffs, he shredded the Lakers, who had no one to match up with him. He put up a video game-like stat-line of 22.0 points, 11.5 assists and 6.7 boards, single-handedly taking the series to six games against the two-time defending champs.
It's not like Los Angeles had anyone better behind Fisher either.
Steve Blake was supposed to be a major upgrade to Jordan Farmar, but he was anything but. He was on the floor 20 minutes a game during the regular season and he only averaged 4.0 points and 2.2 assists a game. In the postseason, his minutes dropped and so did his production to a measly 2.2 points and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 30.4 percent from downtown.
The Lakers have tried to find an upgrade this offseason.
They've shown interest in Raymond Felton, Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions. Felton and Flynn were traded during the draft so that leaves Sessions, who's nothing but a solid backup anyway. LA made an offer to Golden State for Monta Ellis, but the Warriors look determined to keep him.
San Antonio and New York aren't going to help the Lakers by giving them Tony Parker or Chauncey Billups. Their only other option to find a veteran point guard this offseason may be to trade for Chris Paul. There's probably a better chance that lightning will strike Kobe Bryant and literally turn him into a Black Mamba.
Starting a rookie point guard selected in the second round doesn't seem realistic, but right now, it's the most realistic possible replacement the Lakers have.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Los Angeles Lakers' 2011 starting point guard—Darius Morris.
He should've been a late first, early second-round pick, but he somehow fell right into the Lakers' lap, who were ready to select him in a heartbeat. Morris is the best floor general in the 2011 NBA draft class. No one—not Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker or Jimmer Fredette—has Morris' court vision and passing ability.
He would be an instant upgrade over Derek Fisher in at the very least one huge area—defense. Morris is 6'5" and will be able to physically abuse smaller opposing point guards.
He's a good athlete, not explosive, but you don't have to be an freak athlete to excel as a guard in the NBA. See Deron Williams, Brandon Roy, Manu Ginobili, Kevin Martin and Chauncey Billups. They're all good athletes, but they aren't going to drop anyone's jaw.
Darius Morris cannot shoot—fiction. Morris has a great mid-range game, he's just not a three-point shooter. That can be fixed though.
Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown were not good shooters when they came to the Lakers, but they improved dramatically with summers of hard work. After he was drafted, Morris was a guest on ESPN Radio and talked about the teams that passed on him saying that "They're gonna regret it." Sounds like a man on a mission to me.
Shooting is the easiest skill in basketball to improve. You can't teach size or vision. Morris has size, vision and the heart it will take to lead the Los Angeles Lakers into battle to continue their dynasty next season.
David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him on Twitter.
For more 2011 NBA draft coverage, stay tuned to Bleacher Report for NBA draft results and NBA draft grades.
