Nikola Jokic is not amused at going to another rebuilding team
You have to feel for Nikola Jokic. The 20 year old, team-first Serbian sophomore who wants to be a starter as badly as he's great in the locker room went from a rough first season in Milwaukee to a starting role with the Los Angeles Lakers, from rebuilding team to rebuilding team. He was vocally unhappy about the losing situation in the City of Angels, and when the team finally started putting wins together, he got demoted to the bench. Still averaging well over 20 minutes a game, but a long way to go to work on his form, develop his game, and reclaim his starting spot. Then at the deadline, after months of being shopped, he found himself on the move again - to another rebuilding situation, and from former worst team to current worst team. Sent to the Brooklyn Nets for the injured Amir Johnson.
In Jokic and Marcus Smart, the Nets now have two promising young players who are currently woefully inefficient. Smart's 41.7% shooting, Jokic's 38.7 for 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds. Good news with the Serbian? He's supposed to have the best potential jumper in his class, though that's more a damning indictment of his year's jumping issues than praise for him. Still, the 50%+ inside shooting is promising, there's a wealth of upside remaining, and the 0.91 PA/SF is surprisingly effective for a product who is still raw on the defensive end. In any case, he'll be back in the starting lineup where he wants to be, and will just have to be patient while his new team goes through the same growing pains his previous two employers felt. He's still got that Dirk Nowitzki quality potential to him.
Amir Johnson's defensive prowess draws rave reviews
So if Jokic has such a high ceiling, and the Lakers were comfortable with the idea of helping him finetune his offensive superstar potential and game, why were they willing to trade him for a 28 year old big man who won't play a single game for the rest of the season, particularly one who frequently gets into foul trouble? The answer is multi-faceted. First, Amir Johnson fits the Jestorball profile of a big man who can shoot the ball and draw contact down low. In fact, all three of the current bigs who will get heavy minutes for the Purple and Gold next season have posted excellent percentages - Johnson with 55.3%, Walter Tavares at 57.9%, and the weak man of the three, Robin Lopez with 53.2%. That's exactly the kind of thing the Lakers love to see from their bigs, and in 17 games, 12 starts, Amir averaged 13.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 1.2 blocks (22.9 MPG). He's a consistent 13-14/6/1/1 threat on high percentages, numbers that may well go up in the Lakers' system.
But perhaps the biggest attraction isn't his well-rounded game or his team contract. It's his breathtaking foot speed that allows Amir to chase down opposing players to disrupt the shot, or maneuver past slower big men in the paint. The numbers bear out his exceptional quickness - a team high 90.9% of drives stopped, and a 0.87 PA/SF despite being small for a big at 6'9, 210. He's also forced 1.7 turnovers and posted a 15.4 efficiency rating, putting him 3rd and 2nd on the team respectively. Want to talk about PER? Try #1 at 24.2, which puts him ahead of more celebrated players like Dwight Howard, and roughly equal with bigs like Greg Monroe.
Or, as one Lakers' staffer enthused, "When we got a closer look at his video, we were amazed at how fast he was for his size. He's really a guy you can put at any one of the three frontcourt positions. He's got the quickness to play SF, yet can also bang it in the paint for scoring and rebounds. That's the kind of versatility we love to have, and he's got the lightweight frame we demand for a big thinking about venturing out to the 3."
Ultimately what that means is more flexibility for the Lakers in deciding where to go with their three first round draft picks. While it's believed point guard and small forward will be the primary areas of emphasis, the right big man is still in play, if a genuine superstar talent, of which there are rumored to be at least a couple in this class. Furthermore, Amir's season-ending injury is a blessing in disguise, since with Perry Jones III now the primary backup big, the team's 14-10 mark figures to drop, particularly in case of injury to their starters (as happened to Walter Tavares), putting the Lakers in better lottery position. Speaking of point guard, the Purple and Gold added another one to their suddenly flush with options roster...
Eric Maynor was surprised to hear he'd been traded
Mere minutes before the trade deadline closed, Lakers GM Jestor was talking with Bulls front office head Marcos Beck and ruefully remarking he wished he'd waited for Eric Maynor to be a cheaper option, so he could have passed on George Hill. Chicago offered Maynor anyway, for any 2nd round pick. Betting on the return of Paul George next season, the Lakers dangled Orlando's 2nd round pick next year, and the trade was quickly agreed to.
The 28 year old, who will battle Jordan Farmar for the starting spot, boasts a sterling 4.0 A/TO ratio and an excellent 3 point shot (35.1% this season, 38% career behind the arc). Although an average drive stopper like the rest of the Lakers' points, he has a 0.85 PA/SF which is appreciably better than Hill's 0.94 and Farmar's 0.95 - numbers that might just be good enough to get him a trial run as the starter. Of course, it may be a one season rental, depending on whether or not he picks up his $2.09 million player option. But for the price of a projected mid-late 2nd round pick, it was worth a gamble and a look to see if he fits within the system - something the Lakers' front office places on a priority on, and hence why they're often willing to take on impending free agents in trade, should the price be right.
If he does pan out, look for Hill's solid game and $8 million expiring to be dealt this offseason, despite the latter's finding of shooting form after initial struggles to adapt to the new system, and to fight Farmar for a presumed backup spot to whatever point guard the team ends up drafting or signing this offseason (assuming option pickup). It's believed Mike Conley, Jr. is high on the Purple and Gold's primary potential max target list, after all.
