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Looking forward to this year

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Aloha,

I haven’t posted in a while. I went into NBA hibernation because this may have been the most uneventful NBA offseason I can recall. Not just for the Lakers but the entire league. The combination of the new CBA, the play in and the lowered lottery odds for tanking has created a truly boring offseason with very little in the way of trades. The few players supposedly on the trade block were being shopped at ridiculously high prices. Even moving players with 2nd round picks was pricy. It cost the Nuggets 3 2nd round picks to move off of Reggie Jackson. While I blame Rob for the position we were in going into the summer, I don’t blame him for not getting anything done under these circumstances.

Still I’m cautiously optimistic heading into the new season. JJ is growing on me. He has the players buy in. They seem genuinely excited to play for him. He has a few experienced former head coaches to fall back on. It’s the leadership and vision that counts more than X’s and O’s.

I like our starting unit. They were 21 and 8 down the stretch with the toughest schedule in the league. And everyone they faced has something to play for. When this group played together this preseason they still look very good.

While we didn’t add any free agents this summer, in a way we did. Vando and Gabe played very little last year and if they are healthy this years it’s like adding 2 tough defenders to the team. Wile I’m hoping Vando will be back soon, Gabe has looked pretty good in minutes he played. Obviously he was on some minute restriction as they eased him in.

So I think we are solid through the top 7. I think after that is what will tell the tale. Overall Max was pretty impressive, especially on defense. He is still young and does make young guy mistakes but overall I think he will contribute. I believe Dalton will make JJ go to a 10 man rotation. He looked very good. If Wood can rediscover his offense, he is a guy that played well with AD last year. But our biggest current need is a defensive minded center to back up AD. We were killed last year whenever AD rested. Perhaps Koloko can be that guy. If not, at some point we will have to trade for one.

I think if this team performs well, AD could be a MVP candidate. I believe JJ is going feature him more than any of the prior coaches. There will be no more 4th quarters where he doesn’t touch the ball.

A lot has to go right for this team to contend, health of course being number one priority. We will need our young guys to a take another step in their development. And I have already seen it. With the exception of 3 point shooting, Austin has looked better on both sides of the ball. Rui has as well. He is defending better and rebounding at a high level, to go with very solid offense. He was my candidate for MIP player in a poll I took part in. Max has grown and we will have to wait on Vando.

While the west is really tough and we have a hard schedule out of the gate if most everything goes right and maybe wrong for a few teams I think this could turn out to be an exciting year.

Christian Koloko: the return after the storm

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Christian Koloko is another talent to watch closely this season. The 6’11” center will try to revive his career after a prolonged absence due to a serious health issue. He underwent surgery for a blood clot and has now been given the green light to return to the court on a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. After being drafted by the Raptors, his career took a hit, but Koloko is ready to seize this second chance with determination.

The Douala native stood out for his defensive skills during his NCAA career, where he was a real wall. His 7-foot-10 wingspan and mobility make him a tough rim protector. In his final college season, he averaged 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks, earning him a spot on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year list. That defensive dominance will be crucial for the Lakers as they look to bolster their frontcourt.

Lakers News: Stan Van Gundy Compares JJ Redick To Steve Kerr

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Most in the position that Redick is in have struggled initially. Coaching is not easy and there are a lot of things that players don’t account for or know how to navigate. One of the few who saw immediate success and is now viewed as one of the best coaches in NBA history is Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

Redick and Kerr were actually similar style players in their NBA careers and former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy sees a lot of similarities between the two that could lead to success for Redick as a coach. Van Gundy compared Redick to Kerr, believing that the way they had to think the game will serve Redick well with the Lakers, via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group:

“He’s somebody that really had to learn the game and rely on what he knew about the game and how to play it,” Van Gundy, who coached Redick in Orlando from 2007-12 and again in New Orleans in his final season as a player, told the SCNG. “It’s something he had to give a lot of thought to. NBA basketball is very hard for anyone playing it. It requires a lot of work, but some guys it requires more of to be able to compete at that level. And he’s certainly one of those guys.

“I think you can compare him to what Steve Kerr did. I think there’s a lot of similarities there.”

As Van Gundy noted, some players who aren’t as athletically gifted have to think about other things and do more in order to succeed at the NBA level and Redick and Kerr were two who did that. Kerr jumped straight to a head coach role with the Warriors with no prior experience as did Redick with the Lakers so it is easy to make the comparison.

Of course Kerr’s success has been tremendous, winning four NBA Championships in his 10 seasons at the helm and having the fourth-highest win percentage of any coach with at least 700 games coached. Redick coming close to that level of success would be a huge win for the Lakers and he will certainly put in all the work to try and make that happen.