Nance Jr. could be great if he refines his game.

[BASKETBALLNERDZ]

He's so athletic I was really excited about him in his first year in LA, but I don't get why his skill-set is improving so slow..

[Dr Aki]

did you think he was going to be anything more than a kurt rambis type?

[stan francisco]

He's so athletic I was really excited about him in his first year in LA, but I don't get why his skill-set is improving so slow..

He's refining it everyday in practice.

[BeanBurrito]

I wanted to trade him this last offseason, but that didn't pick up any steam...everyone was too focused on Randle.

[Saru]

as long as he hustles, rebound, defend and do the dirty work for the team, he's alright with me. never expected him to be anything honestly

[Sedale Threatt]

Dude's never going to be more than a role player. Which is fine; every championship team needs a handful of them to fill in the cracks around their stars. (Our critical problem is that we have none of those.) But given that he's already 25, what you see is pretty much what you're going to get barring an extremely unusual turn of events.

[BBBKobe]

He's the perfect role player. Rebounds, hustles, provides highlight plays here and there. Defense has been quesitonable as well as his development.. but he has shown his value to this team.

I rather have Nance than Randle.

[Sedale Threatt]

He's the perfect role player. Rebounds, hustles, provides highlight plays here and there. Defense has been quesitonable as well as his development.. but he has shown his value to this team.

I rather have Nance than Randle.

I never understand why people keep making this comparison, in this context. As we all seem to agree, Nance is a role player. Those guys are important, in some cases exceptionally so. But Randle has a totally different job, to put up numbers, handle the ball and produce. In most cases, including this one, that player is inherently more valuable.

[kblo247]

He's the perfect role player. Rebounds, hustles, provides highlight plays here and there. Defense has been quesitonable as well as his development.. but he has shown his value to this team.

I rather have Nance than Randle.

I never understand why people keep making this comparison, in this context. As we all seem to agree, Nance is a role player. Those guys are important, in some cases exceptionally so. But Randle has a totally different job, to put up numbers, handle the ball and produce. In most cases, including this one, that player is inherently more valuable.

I disagree with you. That is not Randles job, as much as what he wants it to be.

You are writing about what Randle wants to do, why he wants to start, and what he sees himself as which is a guy who puts up numbers, rebounds, handles the ball, and so on.

When this team was good and competing nightly he was nothing more than a role player because that’s what Randle is. He is not a low post stud who co trolls tempo like Zach randolph on a competent team. He is not a play making point forward that dazzles while winning games and closing them with the ball in his hand like Lamar Odom was.

Randles role is nothing more than a Horace Grant. Score a little, rebound, contain people in switches on defense, and not ask for touches or call plays for himself or try to handle the ball much like Luke had pushed his crybaby ass into to start the year.

No team trying to win nightly is going to let Randle handle the ball or put up his numbers because he’s not good or smart like that. Hell hes not even talented enough to impose himself nightly verses double and triple teams with his bull in the china shop approach. He’s no max guy, no leader, and no star ... he too is a role player, just doesn’t want to hear it or accept it to try and win like Nance

[Sedale Threatt]

He's the perfect role player. Rebounds, hustles, provides highlight plays here and there. Defense has been quesitonable as well as his development.. but he has shown his value to this team.

I rather have Nance than Randle.

I never understand why people keep making this comparison, in this context. As we all seem to agree, Nance is a role player. Those guys are important, in some cases exceptionally so. But Randle has a totally different job, to put up numbers, handle the ball and produce. In most cases, including this one, that player is inherently more valuable.

I disagree with you. That is not Randles job, as much as what he wants it to be.

You are writing about what Randle wants to do, why he wants to start, and what he sees himself as which is a guy who puts up numbers, rebounds, handles the ball, and so on.

When this team was good and competing nightly he was nothing more than a role player because that’s what Randle is. He is not a low post stud who co trolls tempo like Zach randolph on a competent team. He is not a play making point forward that dazzles while winning games and closing them with the ball in his hand like Lamar Odom was.

Randles role is nothing more than a Horace Grant. Score a little, rebound, contain people in switches on defense, and not ask for touches or call plays for himself or try to handle the ball much like Luke had pushed his crybaby ass into to start the year.

No team trying to win nightly is going to let Randle handle the ball or put up his numbers because he’s not good or smart like that. Hell hes not even talented enough to impose himself nightly verses double and triple teams with his bull in the china shop approach. He’s no max guy, no leader, and no star ... he too is a role player, just doesn’t want to hear it or accept it to try and win like Nance

All Horace Grant did was shoot spot-up jumpers and run the floor. I'm not trying to say Randle is Karl Malone or anything -- clearly he isn't -- nor am I trying to make the argument that he should be a featured go-to guy. Frankly, there are a lot of things I don't like about him, particularly his careless decision-making and non-existent jumper. But he's got way more game than that, at least in terms of having an actual low-post game.

Beyond that, I'm talking in extremely general terms. They're very different players, with very different jobs. Going back to the Grant thing -- Nance doesn't even do that much. I like him, he's solid, but come on. He's a better Ronny Turiaf.

[kblo247]

Turiaf couldn’t grab a rebound in traffic with his life on the line.

He has a team leading 3.7 BPM, which puts him on the cusp of star level impact (around +4 BPM). For comparison, Kemba is at 3.5, PG13 at 2.8, DeRozan at 3.0, and Dray at 4.2 BPM so far this season.

Larry is lumped in with a lot of stud role-players like Otto Porter (3.1), Steven Adams (3.5), Clint Capela (3.7)

Larry is now ranked the 16th best PF in all the NBA according to RPM at 1.39

Larry has quietly become better each season at what he's good at, improving his TS%, DRB/TRB%s, STL%

If anything at all, it’s more akin to having Robert Horry on your team than Ronny Turiaf. Horry didn’t shoot great, he got ate up some on D, but people don’t remember that as much as the game winners and big rebound nights in the playoffs. Nance improvement and willingness to play and know his role pretty much pencils him into a guy who you can win with if you have the right guys next to him.

He’s had a low key good year, doesn’t score as much as Randle, but he’s impacted the floor as much if not more than him.

[kblo247]

I might have missed it but the Horace comment is a joke. All he did was run the floor and shoot spot up jumpers.

Horace defended the best post guy one on one on every team he was on. He never needed a double team his way. With young Shaq in Orlando, they would ask Horace to take the best post guys. Even in 01, we swept everyone from Webber to Duncan to Sheer because Horace held their ass down.

Then Horace made the right plays. He boxed out at the right time to let others rebound. He made the right passes. He made the right cuts. He gave multiple efforts. And he had the iq to switch, contain, help, contest, and rotate on defense even when he was older.

When everyone was raving about Randle this year it was when he was told nothing but shut up, rebound, switch on d to contain the pick and roll, and then score on the other end. He wasn’t even averaging a double double off the bench like starting but he was more impactful playing winning basketball because he’s not good enough to be the guy or the co-guy.

I doubt Randle can help any team win games as a meaningful starter. He’s the Kevin Martin of starting power forwards or better yet modern day Shareef AbdurRahim

[Ugly0598]

I've never expected Nance to be anything more than a decent big off the bench. He's fine for the role he's in.

[Kilroy]

I might have missed it but the Horace comment is a joke. All he did was run the floor and shoot spot up jumpers.

Horace defended the best post guy one on one on every team he was on. He never needed a double team his way. With young Shaq in Orlando, they would ask Horace to take the best post guys. Even in 01, we swept everyone from Webber to Duncan to Sheer because Horace held their ass down.

Then Horace made the right plays. He boxed out at the right time to let others rebound. He made the right passes. He made the right cuts. He gave multiple efforts. And he had the iq to switch, contain, help, contest, and rotate on defense even when he was older.

When everyone was raving about Randle this year it was when he was told nothing but shut up, rebound, switch on d to contain the pick and roll, and then score on the other end. He wasn’t even averaging a double double off the bench like starting but he was more impactful playing winning basketball because he’s not good enough to be the guy or the co-guy.

I doubt Randle can help any team win games as a meaningful starter. He’s the Kevin Martin of starting power forwards or better yet modern day Shareef AbdurRahim

Who do you think has been helping us win games? We don't lose because of Randle but we sure as hell win because of him...

But why are we talking about what Randle isn't on a thread that's about what Nance is?

We're not seriously entertaining the concept that Nance can replace Randle are we? Hasn't there been plenty of evidence at this point to dispel that little myth...

[kblo247]

I’ll sum it up for you.

We can get rid of Randle and Nance could easily start at pf next to a great player. He could make all the winning plays and we wouldn’t miss a beat if he was with AD, Cousins, or even a guy like Drummond.

We can keep Randle if we plan on adding talent but he has to be the third or fourth guy who knows his role for us to win, not the featured guy. His is the get Paul George scenario

Us maxing Randle or trying to make him our 1/2 guy means lotto every single year with empty numbers like Elton Brand with the clippers or Shareef with the Hawks. He’s not good enough to do what Z-bo did in Memphis, ain’t tough enough or consistent enough to get the max and be the primary low post option who you go to every possession.

[Kilroy]

Who's talking about maxing Randle? I haven't heard a single person here or elsewhere say we should max him.

I do think, if we don't QO him, he'll get offers much higher than we're willing to pay, but even I haven't suggested maxing Randle.

[Slava]

I’ll sum it up for you.

We can get rid of Randle and Nance could easily start at pf next to a great player. He could make all the winning plays and we wouldn’t miss a beat if he was with AD, Cousins, or even a guy like Drummond.

We can keep Randle if we plan on adding talent but he has to be the third or fourth guy who knows his role for us to win, not the featured guy. His is the get Paul George scenario

Us maxing Randle or trying to make him our 1/2 guy means lotto every single year with empty numbers like Elton Brand with the clippers or Shareef with the Hawks. He’s not good enough to do what Z-bo did in Memphis, ain’t tough enough or consistent enough to get the max and be the primary low post option who you go to every possession.

Its like you are stuck in a time loop that ends in 2010 and you drop by in the future just to draw comparisons to old times, everything goes back to Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Turiaf Farmar for you. This is tiresome. The NBA has moved on, get with the times.

[Mirjalovic]

Randle stats is not empty. Lakers have the winning record with him as starter.

[Jody Smokz]

I don't know how any fan that has watched this team all year and come to the conclusion they'd rather have Nance Jr than Randle regardless of roles. Nance is a safe player in that he doesn't do much bad on the floor but his lack of aggressiveness actually hurts at times. Just imagine if Nance was a more aggressive offensive player? I believe if he actually took more open jumpers and made them at a decent clip he could take this team to the next level. If not he's simply a hustle man. Definitely doesn't impact games at the level of Randle.

[Jody Smokz]

Randle isn't getting anything over 4/50M on the open market. Nobody is giving him a max. It's like some of you aren't paying attention.