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Was just listening to Lowe podcast with Baxter Holmes discussing the Lakers and Zach Lowe mentioned that some NBA talent evaluators who he respects a lot compared Larry Nance Jr to Dray Green and he thinks he is an under the radar rookie most worth looking forward to this season for the Lakers. Baxter Holmes corroborates the same from his sources.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=13726804

Around 25 min mark if anyone is interested.

Thought it was interesting coming from everyone's favorite writer after how widely panned that pick was amongst the fans.

well as with most guys who come into the league, they have talent and the tools. but its their work ethic, drive, passion, fundementals, and that x factor, etc that would separate role players to stars. one thing for sure that i like about nance and actually all our young guys is their heart and head seems to be at the right place. just gotta wait and see how they develop.

really excited about nance though. mitch and co definitely saw something in him that i'd like to see as well. an athletic, versatile, energy/hustle guy much like ronny turiaf. he's gonna be a crowd favorite for sure. Lol

I see more turiaf as well than green....although i guess green didnt look at that good either till he got his chance to start last season with lee out with injuries.

The interview with Baxter Holmes was great. Really all of lowes podcasts are must listen.

I think he will bring %100 hustle every second he's on the court...and bench lol
He also seems like a high character guy and is very personable.

I like Nance, he has the right frame to play the 4 in today's NBA....and he's quick and athletic enough to guard 3's. I keep preaching it and will continue to preach it, the NBA is more about having combo players who can be moved around. This way the integrity of your lineups or rotations aren't compromised because this player can only guard one spot. Guys like Nance who has a natural IQ for the game and a motor makes these type of players sniper type guys.

I see some guys here clown as if he's the next Turiaf, and while Ronny was a hustler he sometimes lacked the mental instincts that come with the game. Nance only up his battle for now is finding his spot in the rotation on a permanent basis.

LApwnd wrote:I see more turiaf as well than green....although i guess green didnt look at that good either till he got his chance to start last season with lee out with injuries.

I agree with half of this. Coming into the league, Green was scouted to have legit small forward skills with a plus passing ability and ability to post. He just wasn't particularly great at anything though it translated well to the PF spot given Green's mentality. At least offensively, I don't quite see Nance Jr. being as involved as Green. Defensively, it just depends on how high of an IQ Nance Jr has on that side of the ball which Green has proven to be brilliant at. The only issue with the Turiaf comparison is that Nance Jr is far more athletic which means his potential overall is considerably higher. Whether he hits that potential is obviously a different question.

Green looked great prior to landing a starting role. Hell, Jeff Van Gundy went as far as to praise him every chance he got even when Lee was starting. Marc Jackson just made the mistake of overly defending Lee to the press and well...keeping Lee in the line-up which Kerr would later fix.