Can the Lakers Develop Young Players Effectively? Do They Even Try?

The buyout period has come and gone, and the Lakers don't seem to have missed out on much by signing guard Kobe Bufkin as quickly as they did. In the end, very few players of note actually changed squads, and of those that did (Cam Thomas to Milwaukee, for example) it's hard to see how the Lakers would have been their choice. 

Would Jeremy Sochan (now in New York) be playing more than Bufkin? Probably, if on the margins, because Bufkin isn't playing at all. But would he be making a material difference? Probably not. 

So that's one concern among fans that has passed, but it does lead to another question. 

The Lakers signed Bufkin in part because he's a young player who has lit up the G-League after washing out with the Hawks. For a team with few young players and draft assets, it's not an unreasonable strategy. But once they have young players in the system, do the Lakers do a decent job developing them? Do their young players improve? Are they better at identifying potential NBA talent than they are understanding the value of those players and keeping them? (Think about guys like Scottie Pippen Jr., or Jay Huff.) 

What keeps the Lakers from doing more meaningful player development? 

 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

 

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