Lakers need to move on from Brook Lopez in order to improve
By Keith Rivas
Brook Lopez is getting the Lakers nowhere fast.
I understand the argument of letting guys develop, especially when they’re young and have more raw talent than anything else — but does that only apply to Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball? It seems to be that way, and it’s really not fair to the other guys.
For instance, Lonzo Ball has remained the starter in place of Jordan Clarkson despite the rookie playing extremely poor; consistently poor to say the least. Brandon Ingram was off to a slow start to this season, but with time he’s been able to seem to find his groove.
So why are we making an excuse for Brook Lopez? He’s a veteran center who shouldn’t be playing horribly, yet in the Lakers game against Cleveland, he managed to air ball two consecutive free throws on top of eight points and just one rebound in 22 minutes.
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It’s just unacceptable at this point.
This doesn’t mean by any means that the Lakers are going to do something about it, but it does mean that putting in a younger big man is the right move. Whether they want to do that via trade or whether that means giving Ivica Zubac or Thomas Bryant more minutes doesn’t really matter.
Don’t even think for a second that giving Andrew Bogut more time will fix this issue. He’s played horrible as well, and Los Angeles is fortunate enough that he’s not their starting center.
In any case, the Lakers need to do something about their situation with Brook Lopez, and they need to do it now. They have the young talent that can grow into something special, but they continue to insist on getting in their own way.
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I wonder what it will take for them to open their eyes to the real problem, but my fear remains that they won’t figure it out and they’ll continue to sink because of poor play at a key position for this young core to have.