Should Jordan Clarkson Come off the Bench?

[The Prodigy]

I want to start by saying that this suggestion is not at all meant as a knock on Clarkson. It also doesn't mean that I don't think he and Russell can co-exist. I think they can complement each other pretty well.

With that said, I think if we start Russell, Clarkson, Kobe and Randle together, we'll have too many ball dominant players together. I believe the starting unit would benefit from an off-ball wing, who can first-and-foremost play some D, and can ideally knock down the three.

In addition to strengthening the starting unit, this move would greatly benefit the second unit. It means we can play Lou at his natural SG position, with Clarkson guarding opposing SGs. While Lou is also a ball dominant guy, he has the ability to catch and shoot, particularly from corner threes. Clarkson may not be a true point guard at this point, but he made big strides as a distributor as the season went along, showing a particularly good dynamic in the pick and roll with Tarik Black.

A second unit of Clarkson/Lou/Brown?/Bass/Black would be pretty solid in my opinion.

Thoughts?

[TylersLakers]

Clarkson looked pretty good as the main ball handler last season. So, I think this would work. Russell is also a better shooter, so it would make more sense for Russell to start alongside Kobe and Hibbert.

[Princeinrevolt]

Who do you want to start at the 3 (knowing you would put kobe at his natural position)?

With this current roster, Clarkson should be starting at the 2 with Russell, these two will grow together, and be great together, not just now but for the future.

Clarkson/Russell/Williams are going to play all the minutes in the PG/SG positions. Whenever Lou WIlliams is playing he will be the 2, and whenever Russell is playing he will be the 1. We already have 3 good guards, why would we put kobe at the 2, if we don't have a small forward... And even if we did have a small forward that can play defense and shoot threes, we would still not make the playoffs (the west is tooooooooooooo deep). SO why not put them together, and develop them into a great backcourt partnership.

[The Prodigy]

Who do you want to start at the 3 (knowing you would put kobe at his natural position)?

With this current roster, Clarkson should be starting at the 2 with Russell, these two will grow together, and be great together, not just now but for the future.

Clarkson/Russell/Williams are going to play all the minutes in the PG/SG positions. Whenever Lou WIlliams is playing he will be the 2, and whenever Russell is playing he will be the 1. We already have 3 good guards, why would we put kobe at the 2, if we don't have a small forward... And even if we did have a small forward that can play defense and shoot threes, we would still not make the playoffs (the west is tooooooooooooo deep). SO why not put them together, and develop them into a great backcourt partnership.

A free agent acquisition. Nick Young seems to be on his way out (hopefully) and would likely be replaced with another wing player.

[Princeinrevolt]

Who do you want to start at the 3 (knowing you would put kobe at his natural position)?

With this current roster, Clarkson should be starting at the 2 with Russell, these two will grow together, and be great together, not just now but for the future.

Clarkson/Russell/Williams are going to play all the minutes in the PG/SG positions. Whenever Lou WIlliams is playing he will be the 2, and whenever Russell is playing he will be the 1. We already have 3 good guards, why would we put kobe at the 2, if we don't have a small forward... And even if we did have a small forward that can play defense and shoot threes, we would still not make the playoffs (the west is tooooooooooooo deep). SO why not put them together, and develop them into a great backcourt partnership.

A free agent acquisition. Nick Young seems to be on his way out (hopefully) and would likely be replaced with another wing player.

Yeah but who? I like KJ McDaniels but he would probably be on the bench, unless he got extremely good this offseason.

[Marionettetc]

There's no reason to shift around lineups trying to eek out more wins heading into the playoffs, this team has a lottery foundation and needs to develop the young players. Worrying about the "balance" of the bench isn't a priority.

Russell
Clarkson
Kobe
Randle
Hibbert

[djericho]

Who do you want to start at the 3 (knowing you would put kobe at his natural position)?

With this current roster, Clarkson should be starting at the 2 with Russell, these two will grow together, and be great together, not just now but for the future.

Clarkson/Russell/Williams are going to play all the minutes in the PG/SG positions. Whenever Lou WIlliams is playing he will be the 2, and whenever Russell is playing he will be the 1. We already have 3 good guards, why would we put kobe at the 2, if we don't have a small forward... And even if we did have a small forward that can play defense and shoot threes, we would still not make the playoffs (the west is tooooooooooooo deep). SO why not put them together, and develop them into a great backcourt partnership.

A free agent acquisition. Nick Young seems to be on his way out (hopefully) and would likely be replaced with another wing player.

If the trade for Haywood falls through, I think lakers better off keeping Nick and Starting him. His trade value would be better before the deadline. It would be similar to awhile back trading Blake to Warriors for Brooks and Bazemore. Just lost out on Bazemore trying to chase FAs.

1. has better passers to get him the ball
2. doesn't have to be the main go to guy
3. can create his own shot when needed.

[The Prodigy]

There's no reason to shift around lineups trying to eek out more wins heading into the playoffs, this team has a lottery foundation and needs to develop the young players. Worrying about the "balance" of the bench isn't a priority.

Russell
Clarkson
Kobe
Randle
Hibbert

You make a good point but just because Clarkson's coming off the bench doesn't mean he'd get less minutes. It means he'd get more on-ball time playing alongside less ball-dominant players.

[milesfides]

Jordan Clarkson should start at the off guard. He was decently efficient as a catch-and-shooter. Not very good on pull-ups, and not a great passer or playmaker. His dribble is too loose, it's out of his hands too long. He's a natural finisher and attacker, but that'll be good playing next to Russell rather than Nick Young and/or Lou Williams.

Our team is also short of effective two guards, and that includes a broken down Kobe. Actually the entire league is. If you're a good sized shooting guard who resembles a basketball player you'll pull 10m a year right now. Clarkson is a little small against certain teams, but he wouldn't be undersized against most because he's got good length and athleticism. Just needs to get a little stronger. But really, the entire league is going small in the backcourt because of the dearth of good 6'6" players.

As a two guard, suddenly he becomes an above average passer and playmaker. So his shortcomings as a point become strengths as a two.

We also get quicker and more dynamic and we'll be more of a threat in transition. If he improves what he's already good at, and becomes a better defender, he could find himself as a top 10 shooting guard, instead of a borderline starter as a point.

[The Prodigy]

Jordan Clarkson should start at the off guard. He was decently efficient as a catch-and-shooter. Not very good on pull-ups, and not a great passer or playmaker. His dribble is too loose, it's out of his hands too long. He's a natural finisher and attacker, but that'll be good playing next to Russell rather than Nick Young and/or Lou Williams.

Our team is also short of effective two guards, and that includes a broken down Kobe. Actually the entire league is. If you're a good sized shooting guard who resembles a basketball player you'll pull 10m a year right now. Clarkson is a little small against certain teams, but he wouldn't be undersized against most because he's got good length and athleticism. Just needs to get a little stronger. But really, the entire league is going small in the backcourt because of the dearth of good 6'6" players.

As a two guard, suddenly he becomes an above average passer and playmaker. So his shortcomings as a point become strengths as a two.

We also get quicker and more dynamic and we'll be more of a threat in transition. If he improves what he's already good at, and becomes a better defender, he could find himself as a top 10 shooting guard, instead of a borderline starter as a point.

In that case, we'll need a back up PG because Lou Williams is definitely a SG.

[Spens1]

no way. Clarkson as P.G or S.G with Russell in the other position

Lou is a good bench player to have but heaven forbid we actually start him with Kobe, you would need to have 2 basketballs on there at the same time

[dipstick]

no way. Clarkson as P.G or S.G with Russell in the other position

Lou is a good bench player to have but heaven forbid we actually start him with Kobe, you would need to have 2 basketballs on there at the same time

I dont think anyone proposing to start Lou. No worries there.

As other have mentioned, I believe Clarkson and Russell splits minutes at pg. Either of them sit after 6 minutes, Lou comes in and one of them comes back at pg after another 3 minutes or so to give the other a rest. The thing about Lou is that he isnt a pg but he can bring down the ball. We may even see Kobe as point forward with lou bringin down the ball.

Interesting stuff. Good thing is we need a 3rd pg and Ronnie Price is off the market.

[john248]

I wouldn't mind seeing Clarkson on the bench to start games. He can still get plenty of minutes and end games with most of the starting unit. The problem is a starter quality wing player opposite Kobe. I suppose Nick Young could start. I don't have much faith in the defense even with Hibbert out there.

[John Long]

Clarkson and Russell should start, they are both 6'5" they are both big guards and won't be undersized in today's league. It is essential for them to build chemistry going forward, I see no reason why Clarkson should come off the bench. None at all.

Kobe at this point is better off as a 3 where he can use his quickness to his advantage. He will also be relieved of guarding the quicker 2s. Most SFs are 3 and D guys anyway, so Kobe is better off guarding those. And when he faces bigger SFs all he needs to do is play within the context of the team and we should be fine, it is his last season anyways so who cares if he loses a couple of match ups. Its all about whats best for the team going forward.

[Boss Angeles]

Here's the thing, if it's a Russell/Kobe backcourt, when Russell passes to Kobe what does the youth gain from that? They could just watch him, but I don't think that makes anybody better.

If it's a Russell/Clarkson backcourt, and Russell passes it to Clarkson, at least that gives Clarkson a chance to grow and that means our youth is getting better. Vice-versa as well. The ball in either Russell's/Clarkson's/Randle's hands against other starters is the way to grow.

[EArl]

Jordan Clarkson should start at the off guard. He was decently efficient as a catch-and-shooter. Not very good on pull-ups, and not a great passer or playmaker. His dribble is too loose, it's out of his hands too long. He's a natural finisher and attacker, but that'll be good playing next to Russell rather than Nick Young and/or Lou Williams.

Our team is also short of effective two guards, and that includes a broken down Kobe. Actually the entire league is. If you're a good sized shooting guard who resembles a basketball player you'll pull 10m a year right now. Clarkson is a little small against certain teams, but he wouldn't be undersized against most because he's got good length and athleticism. Just needs to get a little stronger. But really, the entire league is going small in the backcourt because of the dearth of good 6'6" players.

As a two guard, suddenly he becomes an above average passer and playmaker. So his shortcomings as a point become strengths as a two.

We also get quicker and more dynamic and we'll be more of a threat in transition. If he improves what he's already good at, and becomes a better defender, he could find himself as a top 10 shooting guard, instead of a borderline starter as a point.

In that case, we'll need a back up PG because Lou Williams is definitely a SG.

Lou can bring the ball up the court as a Pg and if you have Clarkson with Lou, Clarkson can be a temporary playmaker. I don't think we need a back up PG when Clarkson, Russell and lou can handle the back court. This is all under the assumption that Kobe plays the 3. I don't know how that will go though.

[Michael Lucky]

If he went to the bench he'd have to fight for touches with Nick and Lou so it hardly makes a difference. Besides he played just fine next to Lin last year.

[Boss Angeles]

I can't wait to see our backcourt destroy Minny's backcourt. People will know then that this backcourt has extraordinary potential.

I also have a feeling these two teams will be rivals in a couple seasons. We're going to need to get our center though.

[Lakers415]

Do people realize last season every team played easy on the Lakers?

This season if Kobe returns healthy and D Russell pans out well, they will actually look at scouting reports on players on the team... I've seen this so many times with young players on bad teams that put up empty stats and cannot reproduce similar output on a decent-good team. In addition, JC essentially became the number 1 option on the team....

Jeremy Lin during his linsanity run was a prime example of this. He had the green light to do whatever and no one had scouting report on the Knicks or cared, until they pulled off that +10 game winning streak. When Melo and Stat came back, his points dropped significantly and teams essentially knew how to play lin going forward. Than, lin moves to a team with a ball dominant guard in harden and his play drops tremendously.

Lin and Clarkson have very similar attributes. Both are very athletic, long and their best skills are slashing, but the Lin we saw is better by a wide margin than anything we seen from JC.

I hope I'm wrong about JC, but I rather trade him when he has any value because if young is still here, I doubt he will get playing time next season and will go on nbdl assignments again.

[EArl]

Do people realize last season every team played easy on the Lakers?

This season if Kobe returns healthy and D Russell pans out well, they will actually look at scouting reports on players on the team... I've seen this so many times with young players on bad teams that put up empty stats and cannot reproduce similar output on a decent-good team. In addition, JC essentially became the number 1 option on the team....

Jeremy Lin during his linsanity run was a prime example of this. He had the green light to do whatever and no one had scouting report on the Knicks or cared, until they pulled off that +10 game winning streak. When Melo and Stat came back, his points dropped significantly and teams essentially knew how to play lin going forward. Than, lin moves to a team with a ball dominant guard in harden and his play drops tremendously.

Lin and Clarkson have very similar attributes. Both are very athletic, long and their best skills are slashing, but the Lin we saw is better by a wide margin than anything we seen from JC.

I hope I'm wrong about JC, but I rather trade him when he has any value because if young is still here, I doubt he will get playing time next season and will go on nbdl assignments again.

Lin was an anomaly during his time with the Knicks.
As for Clarkson, teams did scout him once he got more recognition He went through a little wall as well and then got through it. He will be fine.