Youth Movement: LA Rookies

Youth Movement: Ranking the Lakers Rookies
by K0pr0phage, Resident Scholar

As the regular season winds down, and LA clings to the 7th playoff spot, now is as good a time as any to evaluate the performance of the four Lakers’ rookies (I’m including even the undrafted Devin Green here). I’ll look back at their performances so far this season, and I’ll look ahead to their chances of sticking around in the NBA…and especially with the Lakers. As a group, I must say that this looks to be the most promising crop of LA rookies in a long time. At the same time, most of them are at least one more season from contributing consistently. This should be no surprise, as we all know Phil’s M.O.: he does not give rookies tons of minutes traditionally. That said, he has shown a willingness to trust the rookies as a class in some crunch situations, especially Ronny Turiaf. The fact that Phil has had the rookies with the club for the most part (Turiaf’s injury and Von Wafer’s very brief stint in the DL being the only exceptions) means that they have all gotten the most out of the NBA experience this year. The thought behind this move is that if you can make the players comfortable on the big stage, then you have already gotten them past one obstacle. Then their talents and ability to commit to improving their game are all that stands between them and the NBA dream. So how do the LA rookies rank?

#1. Ronny Turiaf 2nd Round, #37 Pick
6′10, 249#, 23 y/o, PF
Season Highs: 10 points, 3 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks
Highlight: Just getting on the court was amazing, but Turiaf’s big block against Boston (in an eventual loss) hints at the kind of clutch performer he could be one day.
Rookie Ranks: 4th in blocks per 48, 7th in blocks/foul, 9th in rebounds per 48, 9th in blocks per game, 13th in FG%
Scouting Report: Constant energy, hustle, heart. These are clearly Turiaf’s biggest assets. On top of these, however, are good athleticism from a 4, good timing for shot blocking, the will to compete even in the clutch, and a nice ability to get to the FT line. On the negative side, Turiaf is still quite foul prone, has not shot well from the FT line, and turns the ball over a bit too frequently. A bit raw on both sides of the ball.
Future: If any Lakers rookie has shown the ability and will necessary to compete at the NBA level, it is Turiaf. Also, despite joining the team in mid January, Turiaf has logged minutes comparable to Green…and more than Wafer has. His contributions outweigh any of the other rookies. I would not be surprised if Phil calls upon Turiaf to play heavy minutes (more than 15 per game) next season. He may even have a shot at the starting PF spot (assuming Kwame isn’t playing PF). Personally, I think he will be a better player than Cook by next season’s end.
Season Grade: C+ (Barring surgery, what could have been?)

#2. Andrew Bynum 1st Round, #10 Pick
7′0, 270#, 18 y/o, C
Season Highs: 16 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
Highlight: 16 points in a quarter? That is a fantastic performance, but not Bynum’s greatest deed. His fake and dunk on Shaq, and the ensuing shoving match, will be etched in the minds of Lakers fans for a long, long time.
Rookie Ranks: 4th in blocks/foul, 5th in blocks per 48, 10th in blocks/game
Scouting Report: Huge, athletic, young, and raw. So much potential, it’s unbelievable. Early on, it looked as if Bynum would be a solid defender. His defense has since weakened considerably. His offense remains quite raw (but he remains effective by keeping it “vanilla”, using just a few bread and butter moves). His mere presence in the lane helps defensively, but he must become more active on both ends of the court if he is to remain on the court for longer stretches. Developing a few offensive options, which is nice. Demands the ball in the post. Not a good Free Throw shooter.
Future: Will Andrew Bynum be a quality NBA player? Probably. Will he do it with the Lakers? Probably. Will he do it next year? Most likely not. Assuming an optimistic amount of growth from this season to next, Bynum would be at best an 800 minute guy next year. This year, he’ll play about 400. He certainly looks like he will be a solid shot blocker and defender with the ability to finish around the hoop with authority, but his age means that he is probably at least two seasons from heavy minutes.
Grade: D (Some good signs, but he was a lottery pick)

#3. Devin Green Undrafted
6′7, 210#, 23 y/o, G/SF
Season Highs: 5 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Rookie Ranks: 20th in AST/TO ratio
Highlight: Devin hasn’t really done much except brick shots, unfortunately.
Scouting Report: Athletic hard-worker. Incredible length at the guard spot. Has looked lost frequently on the court. Shoots timidly. Not a bad ball handler, not a bad passer. Very, very raw offensively. Needs more experience to calm his nerves.
Future: Green is likely to be back with LA next season. He has played in more games than any rookie except Bynum. It seems as if the Lakers are grooming him as a combo guard (someone to play a Kobe-like role). That is a tall order to fill, but all the scouting reports on Green say that he has ability bordering on PG skills. He certainly hasn’t shown anything in a game that would lead anyone to believe that he is a future NBA player, but management must see something in him.
Grade: D- (Consistently low-average compared to rookies; not bad for undrafted)

#4. Von Wafer 2nd Round, #39 Pick
6′5, 210#, 20 y/o, G
Season Highs: 9 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Highlight: The 9 points performance, in Wafer’s biggest playing time, was clearly Wafer’s brightest performance.
Rookie Ranks: 1st in AST/TO ratio! 1st in Stl/TO ratio! 18th in Stl per 48
Scouting Report: Very athletic, a good handle, supposedly a good on the ball defender, very quick, explosive scorer (in college, SPL, and practice). Very nice looking shot (with unimpressive results as yet). Great AST/TO ratio. A gunner, plays out of control. Struggled even against inferior competition (D League). Phil clearly does not trust him.
Future: I would assume that Wafer will be back. His upside, as a good scorer, competent defender while Kobe rests, will put him in camp next season. May earn a trip to the D League again next season (for an extended time) to refine his game. There are too many questions about Wafer at this point. Perhaps if he can get his offensive game in gear, his defense will come around. In the meantime, has shown absolutely nothing in a game situation to merit future time. He is going to stick around based solely on his in-practice performance…which may not be a bad thing given his upside.
Grade: F (Not in the top 60 in most rookie statistics)