The most worked-up I ever got about a personnel decision the Lakers made in the Kobe era was when they gave up Trevor Ariza. 

Really. 

Photo by Keith Allison [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

That offseason, the Rockets signed the UCLA product for a little more than $5 million per season and the Lakers went out and signed free agent Ron Artest (Metta World Peace). World Peace signed with the Lakers for slightly more than the Rockets signed Trevor for, and the two basically switched teams.

I wasn’t happy. Why would a team that just won a title get rid of a 24 year old starter on that title team in favor of a 30 year-old Artest/World Peace who had a weird game and was a wild card at best?

The litmus test was whether the Lakers would win a title with World Peace, and I suppose they accomplished that. World Peace made a game clinching jumper in game seven of the finals to justify all of it. So I guess it all came out in the wash. While Metta aged, Trevor was in his 20’s. I’m not saying he would have mitigated their plans, but you can’t tell me Ariza wouldn’t have helped the teams that a washed World Peace finished his NBA career with.

This season, Ariza’s departure from the Rockets and the nose dive Houston has taken so far this year are further evidence to support the idea that he was, and still is really good. Ariza, now 33, is still a good player. Nine years later, I still think he’s one of the best guys out there to fill gaps and holes a team has.

The shame is that he’s on a young team in Phoenix that has too many of those holes for anyone to deal with. I’m not sure if his $15 million deal is tradable this season, but you know he could plug into virtually any contender and make them marginally better. He may be hitting the tail end of his highly useful career, but I will always believe in Trevor Ariza and the power of players like him. Basketball games are often decided on the margins, after all. 

It’s been a few nights now since Cal Poly alum David Nwaba made his NBA debut. He played some late minutes, some good defense, and missed the only shot he took. 

On Friday night, he did better, scoring 7 points, grabbing a pair of rebounds, and earning a net plus-five rating for the game in 20 minutes.

Some nerves were involved with playing for the first time in front of the Staples Center crowd, but when all is said and done, David Nwaba is getting some time in the league. Nwaba has always had NBA physical ability, but his rise got me thinking — what are some lessons young players can learn from David Nwaba’s D League Tryout-to-NBA story?

David Nwaba drives during a game vs. Texas Southern in the NCAA Tournament. His Cal Poly Mustangs won their first-round game before being ousted by one-seed Wichita State in 2014.

Perseverance

With no Division I offers, Nwaba went to school at Hawaii-Pacific out of high school and redshirted. After a year there, he moved back to Los Angeles to attend Santa Monica Community College. Two years out of high school, Cal Poly and Joe Callero finally got him into a D-I uniform with the Mustangs.

Think about it. Nwaba is a guy who had zero Division I options out of high school. Less than a year after graduating college he’s in the NBA. And it’s not like he got drafted. He had to TRY OUT FOR THE D LEAGUE! 

Young guys — if you’re feeling down about not having offers you think you should have, think about David Nwaba and buck up. 

Playing the role

He was the most athletic player on the court from the time he got to Cal Poly, but Nwaba knew how to play a role. His sophomore season — the one the Mustangs went to the NCAA Tournament, he had to play the role of defensive stopper, guarding the opponents’ best perimeter player. 

Honestly, Nwaba was only more of a “featured” offensive player once his senior year rolled around. 

Flexibility and coachability

In his first two seasons at Cal Poly, Nwaba played as a small forward and shooting guard, in that order. In his senior year, Joe Callero played him as the primary ball handler for much of the year. It was a role that David took-on seemingly seamlessly, while still mostly guarding opponents’ best players. He did what was asked of him and never wavered in his aggression.

Accentuate the positives

David’s athleticism and speed are world-class. Instead of trying to prove he had a 50% jumper when he didn’t, Nwaba quietly worked on the lesser parts of his game while sharpening the edge on his relentless defense and ability to knife inside and get buckets. 

So, I guess what I’m saying is that if you do some things really well and you work hard, are patient, listen to coaches, and sometimes go way outside your comfort zone, that you have a real chance to be successful. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. 

What a story!@dnwaba0 continues to make the most of his @NBA contract w/ the @Lakers! #NBACallUp pic.twitter.com/073bvugZ6Q

— NBA D-League (@nbadleague) March 4, 2017

*****

Cal Poly wins third in a row

On Thursday night, Cal Poly won their third game in a row, with four players scoring in double figures. Donovan Fields led the run when the Mustangs pulled away. He made a few buckets, threw an alley-oop to Hank Hollingsworth:

Ally-Oop! Donovan Fields connects with Hank Hollingsworth in @CPMustangs win over CSUN pic.twitter.com/rJSXBEGEtL

— Derek Opina (@DerekOpinaKSBY) March 3, 2017

the he did this:

Steal + Coast 2 Coast + Juke + Bucket = Cal Poly's Donovan Fields @CPMustangs pic.twitter.com/lhFYOIJUgx

— Derek Opina (@DerekOpinaKSBY) March 3, 2017

Oh dear. The Mustangs are playing great and having fun at the right time. Look at ESPN Radio’s Mike Chellsen calling for the TO at the end of the video too. Classic. 

Fields finished the game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Senior Ridge Shipley scored 17 points on 8-12 from the free throw line to go with his 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Luke Meikle had 12 points and four boards while Victor Joseph managed 12 points and 6 rebounds on a relatively quiet night for him. Zach Gordon had 8 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. 

Cal Poly can move up one seed if they win against UCSB at home on Saturday night and if Cal State Fullerton can beat CSUN at the Matadome. 

Photos by Owen Main

David Nwaba is a Laker. Photo by Owen Main

People in San Luis Obispo knew that David Nwaba had the physical tools to be an NBA player. Now, less than a year removed from his college graduation in San Luis Obispo, he’s going to the NBA. On Tuesday the former Cal Poly Mustang signed a 10-day contract with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers. 

“David has worked on all parts of his game the last five years,” said Cal Poly coach Joe Callero via text message. “He is the perfect example of hard work and persistence! We are all so proud of him as a person and player… Cal Poly Proud!”

Nwaba, who transferred to Cal Poly as a sophomore in 2013, made an immediate impact. With his high level of intensity and athleticism, Nwaba helped Cal Poly to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament as the Mustangs rolled through the Big West tournament as a 7-seed. Cal Poly won their first round game that year over Texas Southern before losing to one-seed Wichita State. 

Outside shooting will be the thing Nwaba still needs to continue to work on with his game, but his defensive intensity and ability to finish inside make him someone that Magic Johnson and the Lakers think will be able to contribute in the NBA. 

Nwaba is a native of Los Angeles. His sister Barbara is a world-class heptathlete. Other Big West Conference alumni in the NBA are Suns forward Alan Williams (UCSB) and Grizzlies forward James Ennis (Long Beach State). 

Harrison Faigen is a young writer who is getting his reps in. Along with writing about the Lakers and DFenders for Silver Screen and Roll, Faigen is a student at Cal State Fullerton and an editor at the Daily Titan on-campus in Orange County. 

Faigen talked about the DFenders, Cal Poly alum David Nwaba, the Lakers’ situation as it stood a few weeks ago, and Big West basketball.

So last week was an exercise in the early bird getting the worm, or biting the hand that feeds, I don’t know, I don’t do “analogies” (no idea why I air quoted that, I definitely meant analogies). To give you some context, I am about to move to New York for two months to shoot a show for Netflix (I can’t say much more than that), and so life has been busy with packing, getting our place ready for sub-leasers, blah, blah, humblebrag, humblebrag. Needless to say there was some ball dropping during that time, and yes, that is supposed to be a really bad pun in regards to basketball.

I was seriously about to write a post about how the Lakers need to seriously fire Byron Scott.  Then, they fired Byron Scott.  Then, I was going to write a post about Byron’s firing and give some suggestions as to what the new coach should do.  Then, they hire Luke Walton after I wrote more than enough for a full post. I was going to talk about how it’s not personal, and how Byron is, and will be a Laker for life.  I was going to talk about how I used to work Byron Scott basketball camps over the summers while I was at Cal Poly, and how every experience I had with man, painted him as a great leader. However, over all of that, I was going to say that he still deserved to be fired. I guess for fun’s sake, here is that post:

Nothing personal.  As I said, I used to work Byron’s camps.  I am a die-hard Lakers fan, and as I have already all stated (maybe I should just delete the first paragraph here, but comedy is repetition, so this will all probably come up again), and Byron will always hold a special place in all of our hearts for the Showtime days. Those days of Showtime are long, long gone, and Byron seemed to be the only person who still felt like kids who were born years after Showtime ended, would want to hear stories about it.

THE PEOPLE v. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORY – Pictured: (l-r) Cuba Gooding, Jr. as O.J. Simpson. CR: FX

When I was twenty working Byron’s camp, hearing stories about running with Magic, and Worthy, and Rambis was all I wanted. Sitting with the man who recruited him to Arizona State tell us stories how OJ took Byron on his recruiting trip to USC (yeah, that OJ as in Orenthal J. Simpson the person, but not this picture, this picture is of Cuba Gooding Jr).   Now to a kid in his early 20’s…in 1996, this kind of story was  really cool. But telling those same stories to a twenty-year old in 2016 is like someone telling me stories about Gail Goodrich in the 90’s. I respect them, but do I really wanna hear them? Probably not.

Maybe, if you cast John Travolta as Gail Goodrich, I would wanna hear the hell out of that because Travolta’s Robert Shapiro is the best/worst performance by an actor in twenty years. Unless Ryan Murphy changes his plans for Season 2 of American Crime Story, twenty-year old Kenny would probably not want to hear about how things were back in the 60s, so why would we expect D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle to just fall over themselves because they are being coached by a Lakers legend. They need to respect him, but not pine over him.

Which leads me to my next point, which is Byron’s offense was totally outdated. Before I continue, I am not an analytics guy, meaning specifically that I don’t know how to compute a lot of them, but I respect the data that they represent. Byron, very famously, does not respect analytics, and it showed on the court. Everything that the Lakers did this season was slow. A ton of one-on-one (there is a for sure an analytic that will show you the lack of ball movement in the Lakers offense), working deep into the shot-clock, leading to a usually contested shot. If the year was 2010, then what I just described would called “the NBA”, but those times are long gone.

Offenses now are predicated on movement and spacing, you know, the stuff that the last Lakers coach who everyone hated preached and coached. We all thought he was crazy when he wanted to bring Pau Gasol off the bench, or have Pau sit out at the three point line to shoot threes.

For the record, that was really stupid, and he really messed up with Pau, but he had the right idea, in that, unless you have a back to the back post player like Al Jefferson or Hassan Whiteside, you really shouldn’t be playing someone deep in the post for over 30 minutes a game, much as Byron did for the ENTIRE YEAR! Look, we all love Roy Hibbert on “Parks and Recreation” (and I am not just saying that because I was in four episodes of the show, but any chance I can get a shameless plug for a really great show, that also gives me residuals if you go and stream it, I’m gonna go for it),

…but the fact that Byron never at any point played Larry Nance at center, and Julius Randle at power forward, show a real lack of creativity. I mean, once the season was lost, he should have really unleashed the kids on the NBA. Nance starting at center would have probably generated the same stats that THE Roy Hibbert was giving (please crunch the numbers analytics person, and Nance’s athleticism would have added more than Hibbert’s length.  See below.

In what has turned out to be a difficult season for the Los Angeles Lakers due to injuries (Julius Randle, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant Xavier Henry who was cut, all out for season) and missing-out on free agents (Lebron to Cavs, Melo back to Knicks, Isaiah Thomas to Suns, Greg Monroe back to Pistons), the Lakers have found a player who is a bright spot.

Jordan Clarkson: The college years

Jordan Clarkson played three years in college — two years for Tulsa Golden Hurricanes and one year for the Missouri Tigers. Jordan Clarkson improved each season in college:

• His freshman year at Tulsa he averaged 11.5 points; 1.5 assists; 2.1 rebounds; 0.7 steals; and 0.1 blocks per game.
• His sophomore year at Tulsa he averaged 16.5 points; 2.5 assists; 3.9 rebounds; 0.9 steals; and 0.5 blocks per game.
• His Junior year at Missouri he averaged 17.5 points; 3.4 assists; 3.8 rebounds; 1.1 steals; and 0.2 blocks per game.
• While at Tulsa, Clarkson was a 47.1% shooter from the field; 34.8% three point shooter; and 78.8% free throw shooter.
• While at Missouri, Clarkson was a 50.1% shooter from the field; 28.1% three point shooter; and 83.1% free throw shooter.

Jordan goes to the NBA

Clarkson was selected 46th overall in the second round (14 picks away from the 60th and final pick in the 2014 draft) by the Washington Wizards and acquired by Lakers for cash ($1.8 million). He was not seen as a rotational player for the Lakers coming in with the acquisition of Jeremy Lin from the Houston Rockets to replace Steve Nash as starter and the signing of Ronnie Price who plays hard on defense.

As I mentioned earlier, the Lakers have dealt with a large amount of injuries this season. To try and re-energize the team, head coach Byron Scott has experimented with lineups throughout the year. Lin and Ronnie Price had their opportunities as starters during the first half of the season.

Full Speed Ahead:

Jordan Clarkson could be a bright spot in an otherwise dark season for the Lakers this year. By Mark Schierbecker (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

Clarkson has impressed Scott and the rest of the Lakers coaching staff and has a bright future with the team. As a 6’5″ athlete, he gets to the rim with ease and can pull-up on a dime and hit his jump-shot. He is continuing to learn the point-guard position and how to read defenses. His ability to create space to take shots for himself should help him create shots for others as well.Clarkson’s chance as starter came on January 27th against the Washington Wizards. In 37 minutes Clarkson scored 18 points, had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. In his second game as a starter on January 29th against the Chicago Bulls (one of the best games the Lakers have played this season) he scored 18 points, had 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in 43 minutes. In today’s game, Clarkson started agains the New York Knicks and scored 19 points, had 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in 34 minutes.

With the Lakers in re-building mode, they need to find players with the type of athleticism, shot-creating ability and potential on the defensive end that Clarkson possesses. Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson can develop into a nice one-two punch and core for the Lakers moving forward. With a potential top-five pick in the upcoming draft as well as owning the Rockets first round pick in the mid-twenties and two second round picks, the Lakers can find a few players to go along with Jordan and Julius becoming the young guns who bring enthusiasm and energy.

Maybe Clarkson is a bright spot in an otherwise dark time for the Lakers.

The 2014-2015 NBA Season is upon us. In order to remain competitive, teams make under-the-radar signings that they hope will become productive players. These players are considered role players who have not reached their full potential.

One player who fits this bill is Trevor Ariza with the 2008-09 Los Angeles Lakers. His regular season averages through his first nine seasons for his career are 9.7 points; 4.6 rebounds; 2 assists; 1.4 steals, and 0.03 blocks per game. His per game averages for 2008-2009 was 8.9 points; 4.3 rebounds; 1.8 assists; 1.7 steals, and 0.03 blocks per game. These numbers do not jump off the stat sheet but his value for the Lakers during the playoffs was important.

During the 2008-09 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic Trevor Ariza stepped up and averaged 11 points; 6 rebounds; 1.6 assists; 1.8 steals; and 0.02 blocks per game. In three of the five games against the Magic, Trevor scored in double figures providing an added scoring threat the Lakers really needed. He played a key role in helping the Lakers secure their fifteenth NBA Title as a franchise, Phil Jackson’s 10th NBA Title as a head coach and Kobe Bryant’s fourth NBA Title as a player.

My choice for a breakout player this season is Ed Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers. This past offseason, the Lakers signed the 6’10” Davis to a 2-year $2.08 million contract. He is in his sixth year and has averaged 6.9 points; 5.9 rebounds; 0.7 assists; 0.5 steals; and 0.9 blocks per game. He has averaged 20 minutes per game through his career but has not played a key offensive role for any team he’s been on. With the Los Angeles Lakers and head coach Byron Scott he has a chance to have a breakout season. Bryon’s offense values the use of post players. Byron’s defense needs centers that can protect the rim.

Ed Davis can provide inside scoring and rim protection. Because he is projected to be the primary backup center for the Lakers, he should get 22 to 24 minutes per game, and that number could go up with good play. Through this year’s preseason, Ed Davis shot 73 percent from the field. He knows what his game is and he plays around the post. He can be an effective post player because most of his shots are hook shots, dunks and layups. In other words, he tries not to be something he isn’t. He knows his role.

With more touches he can increase his scoring average into double-digits. On the defensive side of the ball, Davis is athletic and aggressive. With consistent playing time and a defensive mindset he can increase his block totals to about 2 blocks per game and his rebound totals from 5.9 to 9 rebounds per game.

My projected stats for Ed Davis are 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists and 1 steal per game. It’s an optimistic projection, but consistent playing time should lead to consistent improvement for Ed Davis.

Here is a clip of Ed Davis scoring 12 points and getting 4 blocks against the Denver Nuggets in the preseason on October 6th, 2014.

How much can Carlos Boozer actually help the Lakers this season? Photo by By Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA, via Wikimedia Commons

This year, the Lakers might be the third-best team in California, but that won’t stop them from being an interesting team to keep tabs on. Owen and Andy go through the roster and try to figure out what reasonable expectations for this team’s roster are and which of their young players with upside might be a candidate to break-out.

Swaggy P is going to either make things really exciting, or his antics will make Kobe’s head explode. Either way it will be must-see TV. By Tubofgaming via Wikimedia Commons

He started by appending his initial comment with “just playin’.” But as Swaggy P’s conversation with Jim Rome a few weeks ago continued, it became clear that a large part of Swaggy P believes it. In many NBA cities, an attitude like Swaggy P’s would not work for a player like him. In his hometown, in the middle of Tinseltown, it plays amazingly.

Rome, who is a Southern California native, understands what I’ve been saying about the Lakers for the past few years. In Los Angeles, you can’t just be good. Whether you’re a singer, actor, or athlete in this town, being relevant in Hollywood is probably more important than being good.

The Buss family knows they aren’t going to be good, so the least they can do is make it fun to come watch every night. Nick Young will almost guarantee that. He is fearless to a fault and we haven’t seen as much of his on-court interaction with Kobe Bryant as I was hoping for at the beginning of last year. Watching their interaction alone will keep me tuned-in, even when games get out of hand.

Don’t get me wrong — the Lakers will be bad. They might be .500 if everything falls into place. If it doesn’t, they might not be much better than they were this year.

At least they won’t be ridiculously boring though.

Rooting for a losing team is informing. It helps a fan stay grounded and take pleasure in the little parts of athletic competition. It also winning — when it comes around again — much more fun and satisfying. The Lakers’ last five titles would not have been as sweet without the mid-90’s mediocrity. Those mid-90’s teams were fun though. Rooting for Pig Miller was never a winning proposition, but it was entertaining.

Nick Young is entertaining — about that there is no question in my mind. Whether he can be good on a very good team is still a question I ask. For the next few years, in a Lakerland made gloomy by the dark clouds of Kobe’s contract and aging, Swaggy’s ability to be good on a good team may be a moot point.

So I’ll say it again. In this city, where entertainment is the main currency, the Lakers re-signing Swaggy P just makes sense.

Swaggy P will be in Los Angeles for another four years. By Keith Allison, via Wikimedia Commons

Don’t worry Lakers fans. On the biggest day in NBA free agent history, your Lakers weren’t left out. No, they didn’t get LeBron, Carmelo, Bosh or Wade. They didn’t trade for Kevin Love and they didn’t lure a free agent away from any other team.

Instead, they reportedly locked up Nick Young for four more years.

Co-hosting the Sports Bite on ESPN Radio 1280 this week, Mike Wozniak asked me in as many words how long Lakers fans should be prepared for the team to be bad for.

I got the answer today. About four years. Don’t get me wrong though — I love Nick Young.

If my team can’t be good — and let’s be clear, the Lakers are going to be bad again next season — I at least want them to be entertaining. Nick Young is definitely that.

Young will give fans a reason to be in the building. On one side of the court you’ll find Kobe Bryant. Bryant, the consummate professional, will continue to hone his craft late into his career. He is a beacon of the Lakers’ dominant past and his riding off into the sunset sometime in the next few years will mark the end of a great era in Lakers history.

Contrast that with Nick Young. Swaggy P is as entertaining as they come. I watched three quarters of a game last year where he went toe to toe with LeBron James. For as much as Young is really bad defensively, he has never seen a shot he doesn’t like and he doesn’t have any conscience. If Manny Ramirez were a basketball player, he might be Swaggy P. Think about it — no defense, offensively gifted, comes off as slightly air headed. It’s a perfect fit.

In the town where he went to college, the USC product should be an entertaining sideshow while the Lakers try to rebuild. He will do things from time to time that keep them in the spotlight. He will have lots of memorable moments over the next four years. Don’t expect him to lift the Lakers a lot higher than they went this year.

What’s that you say? You’d like a full hour of Nick Young offensive highlights from last year? You got it!

YouTube is great, isn’t it? Here are some sweet older highlights. Hunker down, Lakers fans. The next four years are going to be at the same time impossible to watch and, if we’re lucky, impossible to turn away from.