Five observations on the Lakers young players from the California Classic

May 15, 2024

Here are five observations from the Los Angeles Lakers’ three games at the California Classic at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

1. The scouting department strikes again

The Lakers’ scouting department, widely regarded as one of the best in the league over the past decade because of their impressive track record, appears to have uncovered future rotation players again.

All three rookies on the 17-man roster — Max Christie, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider — had impressive moments in which they displayed high-level skills that could eventually translate to the NBA level (which we’ll cover below).

The expectations are obviously much lower with players who are taken in the second round or are undrafted, and there is still plenty of time for that assessment to change. NBA Summer League, which starts at the end of this week in Las Vegas, will be more revealing.

But based on first impressions, it seems as if the Lakers’ scouting department found some late value, which is all the organization could hope for given their lack of draft capital.

2. Max Christie is ahead of schedule defensively

Though shooting may be his No. 1 projected skill, Christie’s defense impressed in the first three games of summer league. With the way he defends, Christie often looks bigger than 6-foot-6.

Christie is active, using his long arms (6-foot-9 wingspan) to deflect and steal passes, shrink driving and passing lanes, close out effectively, poke away dribbles and contest shots. He navigates screens well, almost mimicking his offensive ability to do so.

He has solid fundamentals. His arms are almost always up and big. He mirrors the ball, making his length more of a factor. He has efficient footwork. He’s a smart defender who reads opposing offenses well.

Strength, or lack thereof, is an obvious deficiency. Big wings will be able to drive through Christie or post him up. There’s a reason why most of the elite defensive guards have strong bases and athletic, sturdy frames. Christie isn’t there yet.

Watch here as Moses Moody, who’s only listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 lbs., effortlessly bulldozes Christie on a drive to the rim.

Even so, Christie should be able to develop into a relatively effective defender early, especially if he’s only going up against bench units.

Offensively, Christie looked rawer than anticipated. His shot selection was questionable at times, especially in transition, where he sometimes settled for pull-up long 2s or semi-contested floaters from just inside the free-throw line.

His legs weren’t there, with his shot all over the place, including falling short several times. He needs to tighten his handle and learn to leverage his athleticism better in the paint. His lack of strength might affect his offense more than his defense at this point of his career.

Christie still found ways to be effective, though, finding teammates with one-handed cross-court bullets, moving without the ball and cleaning the glass. He averaged 7.7 rebounds, third-most of the tournament, and two offensive rebounds, tied for the sixth-most. That’s impressive.

This is the type of second-effort play — opportunistically crashing the offensive glass while the defense stares flat-footed — the Lakers needed more of last season from their wings and guards.

Christie is only 19. It’s understandable that he has a way to go to become even a backend rotation player. But his defensive potential is tantalizing, and his offensive game will round out as he gets stronger.

3. Cole Swider can shoot as well as advertised

Swider can shoot the leather off the ball. He’s already an elite shooter, which is valuable, particularly for the 15-man roster, which lacks elite shooting. He can catch and shoot, shoot off the dribble or shoot off movement — if he can get a decent look, he can make it.

Swider’s three-game averages: 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and one block in 20.2 minutes, with 57.9 percent shooting overall and 60 percent 3-point shooting. It’s a small sample size, obviously, but his textbook form and quick release indicate he should be able to shoot 40-ish percent at the NBA level.

Swider’s ability to dribble into his shot is notable. He’s not just a stationary shooter. This is a harder shot to make than it looks.

Swider has a knack for getting open — he relocates into passing lanes well and always has hands ready.

He’s drawn comparisons to former Laker Kyle Kuzma, who won the fan base over with his breakout summer league performance in 2017. Swider’s confidence, shooting and competitive fire resemble Kuzma’s that summer. But that’s just about where the comparison ends. Defensively, they are nothing alike.

Swider’s biggest issue is his defense and below-average athleticism. While he’s clearly a smart team defender in a positional sense, rotating and contesting and helping teammates and boxing out, his short arms limit his defensive impact (there is no public record of his wingspan.)

Additionally, Swider is relatively slow for a wing/big, leading him to being blown by more often than the team would be comfortable with. He certainly cares and tries, but it seems as if that will always be a relative limitation. There’s a reason why Swider wasn’t ranked on The Athletic, ESPN or most major mock drafts.

Swider is big — he’s 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds — which could help him. That’s one of the reasons a player like Doug McDermott, who has some similarities with Swider skill set-wise, has been able to stick around. Swider could grow into a backup stretch-four role. He’s a high IQ role player who isn’t afraid to mix it up in the paint.

4. Scotty Pippen Jr. flashes two-way versatility

When considering both sides of the ball, Pippen probably had the most impressive tournament among the Lakers’ rookies.

He’s a heady floor general who can pressure the ball on the other end. He’s shifty with his movements, showing the ability to get into the paint and to the rim consistently. He’s most comfortable using ball screens to get him going downhill, but he can also create with his solid ballhandling.

This is an NBA move: Pippen fakes the dribble handoff, uses the misdirection as a screen, zooms into the paint, does a subtle ball fake and then kicks the ball to Christie in the corner, all in just a few seconds.

Pippen is athletic, though it doesn’t always show with his finishing. He already has the NBA pump fake down, drawing multiple shooting defenders by getting his defender up in the air. He attempted 16 free throws in 65 minutes.

He can force passes, trying to thread a needle that isn’t there, but those are good turnovers a team can live with. Pippen also has a tendency to jump before making a decision with the ball, which is a fundamental no-no.

He averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.7 turnovers in 21.7 minutes. He struggled with his efficiency, shooting 34.6 percent overall and 18.2 percent on 3s. His shot selection needs to be better.

While Pippen can pressure ballhandlers well, he can sometimes get too close and be blown by. His quickness doesn’t translate as much defensively with his lateral movements. When defending screens, he can give up too space and fail to recover to the ballhandler in a timely manner.

Pippen’s greatest obstacle is undersized — he’s 6 feet in socks and 6-foot-1 1/2 in shoes. That’s on the small end for a modern point guard.

He partially makes up for that with his gigantic 6-foot-6 wingspan, but his size is a limiting factor in the NBA. He was bothered, at various points, by longer defenders and more aggressive defensive schemes. He also struggled to score in traffic.

Pippen has the skill set of a respectable backup point guard and can earn his way into an NBA rotation if he gets stronger and develops more as a shooter.

5. Jay Huff dominates with paint protection

Huff, who had a two-way stint with the Lakers last season and primarily played for the South Bay Lakers in the G League, was arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament.

His rim protection was elite. The obvious summer league caveats apply, but Huff’s ability to block and alter seemingly anything in his vicinity was remarkable.

Huff blocked five shots in 37 minutes — a ridiculous rate of 4.9 blocks per 36 minutes (for reference, Myles Turner, the league-leading shot blocker last season, averaged 3.4 blocks per 36 minutes). Though he was only credited with two blocks in the first game, by my count, Huff actually had five, which would give him eight blocks in 37 minutes.

Huff’s instincts and timing are incredible for someone with his size and lack of speed. This is textbook drop defense. He prevents the ballhandler from getting to the rim or getting up a floater/runner, he prevents the roller, his man, from getting behind him, and he recovers promptly, blocking his man’s shot.

Huff has good footwork and an impressive ability to recover and make second efforts when beaten.

He’s primarily a drop big, and he’s too slow for above-average NBA ballhandlers. He can also be pushed around at times, though he often boxes out and battles in the paint as best he can. His strength is his defense, but he’d clearly struggle against five-out teams that force rotations and athletic, explosive guards and wings that can challenge him at the rim.

On the other end, Huff’s more of a pick-and-pop big, which gives him an intriguing skill set as a 3-and-D center. He doesn’t force shots, seining the ball if he isn’t open or pump-faking and putting it on the ground to drive to finish or dish. He flashed some underrated hops with multiple putback dunks, alley-oops and even a couple of reverse dunks.

Huff missed the tournament’s championship game due to health and safety protocols, which certainly affected Los Angeles in the loss. With Thomas Bryant joining the roster, giving the Lakers a third center, the team likely doesn’t need Huff. But he’s a name to watch if his production keeps up.

(Top photo of Max Christie: Darren Yamashita / USA TODAY)

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