The Lakers' New, New Young Core
Although the Lakers fast forwarded their rebuilding process with the Anthony Davis trade, the team already has two intriguing young talents on the roster and an upcoming draft pick to help reboot.
Welcome to issue #13 of Throwdowns.
Couple quick author notes about this one. This will mostly be a Q&A with Zach Milner of The Stepien, to better get a scout’s eye/perspective on the Lakers’ current and upcoming young talent.
It will also feature the inaugural “Spotlight Corner,” a section of the newsletter dedicated to sharing up and coming writers as well as quality work you might have missed. If you are interested in potentially being included, feel free to email me.
With that prefaced, what follows is my conversation with Zach.
Photo by: Adam Pantozzi - NBAE via Getty Images | Throwdowns Illustration
When the Lakers signed off on the blockbuster deal that brought Anthony Davis to Los Angeles, they also emphatically shut the door on their rebuilding process.
Although it may have felt like it, the “Baby Lakers” era didn’t particularly last long when considering other franchises’ rebuilding timetables. And while no specific player from that chapter has gone on to achieve bonafide superstar status, they each played a role in getting the franchise to where it is today.
Sitting at the top of the Western Conference and within a “bubble” in Orlando, the team’s roster is suddenly flooded with veteran talent and contracts.
There are however, a few young legs at the end of the bench that may see some run with the parent squad come this postseason and potentially counted on going forward.
One of those names to keep an eye on is the boundless ball of energy that is Devontae Cacok. After going undrafted in last year’s draft, Cacok was picked up and then waived by the Lakers before ultimately landing a two-way deal.
The investment has seemingly worked out as 23-year-old proved to be both a diamond in the rough and a rebounding connoisseur with the South Bay Lakers this year, earning First Team G-League honors and being named G-League’s Rookie of the Year by Dakota Schmidt and the good folks over at Ridiculous Upside.
Akin to other lovable — and very much helpful “energy bigs” of the past — Cacok’s hyper motor on the glass (the highest rebounding % in the G-League this year among players with at least 20 appearances) and soft/dynamic touch around the rim (70.3% true shooting; best among players with at least 400 shot attempts) helps project him as an awesome fit on a star studded team.
With Dwight Howard’s status going forward being still unknown, as similarly is the case for JaVale McGee (player option), Cacok could find himself a part of the Lakers’ rotation as early as next year.
Sliding next to Davis in the front court on occasion, and also, securing another feather in the increasingly full cap of the team’s scouting department.
*To help break down the team’s most popular and intriguing prospect, I enlisted the help of Zach Milner to discuss Talen Horton-Tucker as well as the team’s upcoming first round selection.
Alright Zach, let’s talk THT. You watched him in college and in the G-League this past season, what jumps out to you?
The Lakers were fortunate to come up on Talen Horton-Tucker where they did in last year’s draft.
Throughout his college season at Iowa State, Horton-Tucker’s enticing flashes were pretty ridiculous. And at times, looked like a budding top 20 prospect.
With that said, he had some inconsistencies. He mostly spent time with the South Bay Lakers in the G-League during his rookie season for good reason, but continued to flash the skills he showed at Iowa State.
What makes Horton-Tucker such an intriguing prospect is the unique combination of his body, skillset and age (19).
At the pre-draft combine, he measured in at 6’4” with shoes, 235 pounds and an absurd 7’1” wingspan. While he was an inconsistent shooter in college, he flashed impressive shotmaking and handles for someone his size.
Those shotmaking flashes have carried over to the G-League, even if they haven’t gotten as consistent as you’d like.
In college, Horton-Tucker also did a great job using his coordination and strength to get to the basket. Showing some very impressive finishes with his length and soft touch. Skills that have seemingly been able to translate already.
He still has some improvements to make, but the progress he made throughout his first season with South Bay was promising.
While everyone is excited to watch THT with the parent squad, it probably isn’t fair to expect him to produce on a contender at the NBA level so soon.
He should get more minutes throughout the season with the Lakers next year, but he probably won’t be ready for a consistent role on a contender. It’s going to take time and patience.
Despite trading quite a bit of draft capital to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis trade, the Lakers will have their first round pick in this year’s upcoming draft. Which prospect do you have your eye on/ think would be a good fit?
There are very few players in college basketball who have the green light from three that Isaiah Joe has had over his two years at Arkansas. A brashness that would theoretically work wonders next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis alike.
Over his two seasons, Joe has shot a total of 548 threes, which equates to about a bonkers 9.1 attempts per game. Even though Joe’s 3-point efficiency wasn’t up to snuff this year, the shot is legit and I don’t question his ability to can it.
His 34.2% shooting from beyond the arc isn’t a great baseline, but it’s an example of how simple box-score percentages remove important contextual aspects like volume/difficulty/gravity from the calculus.
As shown in the clips above, Joe has deep range and the ability to shoot off-movement. His shooting off-screens was a bit disappointing this year, but the flashes are there and improvements can be made.
Thanks to his shooting gravity however, this often forces defenders to tightly close out on him. So a subtle pump fake into a side dribble has seen to be be effective in creating additional scoring chances.
Some of the concerns with Joe are with his frame and him not attacking the basket. According to Synergy, nearly 90% of his shots in the half-court were jumpers. His slender frame can be brought up as a reason for that.
His physical makeup could ultimately hurt him defensively at the next level as well. It should be noted that Joe isn’t scared of physicality on that end and is an above-average team defender.
Joe put on some muscle this past season and continuing to do so would definitely benefit him.
One last thing to touch on with Joe is his impressive shooting off-the-dribble. While he’ll presumably be a mostly off-ball player, especially if drafted to the Lakers, having extra skills is never bad and it leaves room for more upside with development.
You can follow Zach on twitter (@ZachMilner13) and read more of his work at The Stepien.
Spotlight Corner
Enjoyed this from BeyondtheRK on Mo Bamba, Orlando’s hidden Unicorn. Bamba is a fascinating prospect on various levels, and despite his gargantuan size, has flown under the radar a bit compared to his draft class peers.
Friend of Throwdowns, Dr. Rajpal Brar has started up his own newsletter! if you are familiar with his work you already know the amount of research, thoughtfulness and care he pours into his videos. And if you are new to his portfolio, signing up will be a good place to start.
One of my favorite podcasts I have listened to all year was a recent episode of ESPN Daily that featured the story of “The Hero of Goodall Park.” The true-crime drama which began and ended on a baseball field, is both tremendously and heartbreakingly reported by Tom Junod. You can read the full article here.
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