Reddish vs. Walker vs. Beasley

[DeeAgeaux]

You can't have a dozen guys under 6'5" in the NBA and win.

[FrankUnderwood]

Walker is easily the better player between these 3. Cam shouldn’t even be in the league anymore

[Laker's Fan]

For a team who already has multiple Swing sized prospects (Christie, JHS, Lewis) and limited minutes to offer given team depth, it is curious that the Lakers went with another project in Reddish. If the second year had been a team option I'd chalk it up to their seeing something intriguing that they thought was worth developing. But the second year was a player option, so it feels more like a vigorish to his agency.

I would have gone with Gordon, Walker, Beasley in that order had we had the opportunity to add more reserve guard depth.

* One caveat. You need as many guys as possible with the requisite size to throw at Durant. For all of his imperfections, Reddish has a better shot of contesting him defensively than a small guard does.
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Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[SGSD32]

I keep going back to fit and roster construction.

Same logic for Hayes versus Bamba.

Lots of questions with Hayes.. but his athletic profile allows the Lakers to run same basic offense and defense.. where they can't do that with Bamba.

Also.. they had Bamba in the building and chose to go for Hayes.. I think that says something.

As for Reddish? He's your what.. 11th? 12th guy?
Again.. that's where you take a flier on a guy who has potential, imo.

[nomoreshaq]

small sample size but i'm genuinely surprised reddish is winning this.

[Japago]

I like taking the chance on Reddish. He offers new dimensions to the Lakers when he plays well, but he rarely plays like that.

Walker and Beasley weren't consistent in their own right, so I don't think it's a big loss to go for the gamble that is Cam Reddish.

[Hanging from Rafters]

[SGSD32]

[Hanging from Rafters]

[Hanging from Rafters]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[mhan00]

Prince has shot at least 38 percent from 3 his last 3 seasons. Before that he fluctuated from 35% to 40% as a 3 point shooter. Troy’s 38% last year was by far his highest percentage of his career thus far and is more likely to be an outlier. Prince is also way better at being an actual useful defender. Brown had length, but his defense was also soft as hell and players didn’t respect his challenges despite his length because he was never physical bumping them and mostly just kept his hands up without jumping on their shots. Plus side of that, I guess, was that he never picked up fouls, but the big minus was that players would get comfortable against him. Prince, in the games I’ve seen of him, is a more consistent shooter and a more physical defender and plays more to his size than Troy ever did.

[wolfpaclaker]

Just my .02, but I think we should have made a bigger effort to keep Walker/Beasley, as they fit in well to what Ham does. By losing Dennis as well, we will have a lot of changes in a short time. We were definitely going to lose some of them, but not sure it was wise to lose all 3. That's messing with a good team chemistry from last season.

Sure so long as the core of Reaves, DLO, AD, Bron and maybe Rui stay healthy we can probably be in that 47-50 win range and compete with the top 4 of the West. I think we can have a good RS. But ideally we wouldn't have lost so many of the guards - because from what I've seen guys like Walker, Beasley, Dennis etc fit in to what Ham does. On the flip, players who the FO perceives as "dogs" on D or "tough" ala JTA, Beverly, they didn't fit in and lost their place on the team, fast.

That said, the projects Pelinka took on are still in development. He's not taking on made has beens, like Beverly, or what he did in 21-22 with the roster. To his credit he went for Hayes and Reddish, 2 young athletic players who could devlop still. I just wish we had at least kept some of our strong guard rotation from last year - we had 5 guards that could drop 20 a night with Reaves, DLO, Walker, Beasley, Dennis. That's not something I think this team can ignore with the injuries to Lebron/AD.

[nomoreshaq]

[nomoreshaq]

[venturalakersfan]

[SGSD32]

I think @mhanoo made the case for Prince over Brown about as perfectly as you could. There's just not really a comparison right now, Prince is an upgrade.

When I talk about fitting the roster, I'm also talking about the type of game players have and the additions really make sense.

@Hangingfromrafters, I don't think Bamba's game is nearly the same fit for the Lakers as Hayes... when it comes to his actual game. Now, Hayes has a lot of work to do... but he's at least an avatar for what AD does on defense. He's long.. super athletic.. can block shots.. but has the foot speed to play some D on the perimeter and thrive in drop coverage. What that means is when AD is out... the defense doesn't have to make wholesale changes. With Bamba, I think they do. He still blocks some shots.. but he has nowhere near the foot speed or motor. Of course.. Hayes has to improve in some key areas.. and that's where I'm hoping a change in scenery and good coaching help.

Same concept with Beasley... I think he'll do better in a motion offense or one that runs a lot of plays for him. He's better in that environment. His defense was also merely a rumor... didn't exist. I like the idea of having a sniper.. but he wasn't and didn't do anything else.

Lonnie? I have no problem with him. He could create his own shot and fit in well enough with everything else. But I think Vincent will be reliable.. and that Christie will need to get consistent minutes to develop. It's a numbers game with him.

[Hanging from Rafters]

[MJST]

[lakerlove123]

[activeverb]

[Hanging from Rafters]