At the beginning of the season Los Angeles Lakers fans should’ve had only a few expectations if they were real with themselves (points to self I was real with myself). They wanted Kobe to stay healthy, wanted Julius Randle to make strides to be a key piece in the rebuilding era and they wanted to see Kobe and Nick “Swaggy P” Young shoot 20 plus shots a game. Trust me we all knew the Lakers were going to have a down season, Dionne Warwick could even predict that and that’s ok.
Well Randle got hurt the first game of the season and was out for the season. So, Julius developing before our eyes got put on hold because of the injury. I think Randle still had a bright future ahead of him, I mean he plays like a more athletic Zach Randolph.
With Randle getting hurt nobody really expected much from the rookie class for the Lakers. Jordan Clarkson was drafted in the 2nd round with the 46th pick was more so of an afterthought, but as the season has progressed he has turned into a player the Lakers may need to invest a sometime into to help him reach his full potential. Since the All-Star break the point guard has averaged 14.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists on 48% from the field and 31% from three. Over the last 16 games that is pretty good numbers. During the whole season which he has played 47 games (and counting) Clarkson is averaging 10 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists. On Tuesday night Clarkson had his best game as a rookie as he had a
30 point, 7 assist, 4 rebound and 3 block night against the Oklahoma City. Going against Russell Westbrook who arguably is the NBA’s best player this is nothing to sneeze at. Clarkson is a big point guard 6’5” to be exact who seemingly has a knack to help out in all facets of the game.
The Lakers were lucky to get Clarkson as late as they did in the draft because of an injury in college (Missouri) caused his stock to dive, but it may have been a blessing for both parties. Clarkson got to play his rookie season without much expectation and the Lakers may have drafted their point guard of the future.
Hey the Lakers suck this season currently 18-51 and long as they finish within the worst five overall they will have a strong possibility to keep their lottery pick in this coming draft which should be anywhere from 3rd to 4th if it all pans out right. With Randle coming back, Clarkson in the fold, a draft pick and Kobe in the fold the Lakers can move in the right direction. Maybe they somehow get a solid free agent, but you can’t depend on that nowadays. Regardless of what happens it seems that Clarkson might be an important player for the purple and gold for a long time.
