Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the bubble with a lot of doubts. Can Anthony Davis perform in the playoffs? Will the supporting cast around LeBron James hold up? These questions are relevant and tough to tackle. Another issue that the Lakers have to contend with is their future. LeBron will leave one day, and they have traded a lot of picks away. They are relying on some of their younger players to develop into solid contributors.
Dion Waiters was a free-agent signing for the Lakers to add veteran guard depth when they were struggling with their rotations in February. He is expected to be a key bench player for the Lakers in Orlando, especially with the injuries to Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley. Waiters has observed some of the younger talents on the team and given his thoughts on them to Mike Trudell.
Asked Dion Waiters if anybody has impressed him in practice, guys that he may not have known as much about, and he cited both Kostas Antetokounmpo and Talen Horton-Tucker as having a “lot of upside.” (Both improved a lot with the @SouthBayLakers this year)
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 17, 2020
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Los Angeles Lakers And A Bright Future?
Kostas Antentokounmpo is the younger brother of reigning MVP Giannis Antentokounmpo. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the last pick in the 2018 draft. Philly waived him and he went to Dallas. He signed with the Lakers in 2019 and has spent most of his time in the G-League with the South Bay Lakers. He averaged 14.1 points and 7.8 rebounds in the G-League. he is yet to even enter the Lakers rotation, but his progress in the G-League has to be comforting as they head into the bubble short-handed. Kostas is fighting for a power forward role behind Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma.
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Talen Horton-Tucker is another fringe rotation player for the Lakers. He was drafted in the 2019 draft by the Orlando Magic but was traded to the Lakers for a second-round pick in 2020 and cash considerations. He averaged 18.1 points with 4 assists and 6.2 rebounds in the G-League. Tucker stands a bigger chance to shine in the bubble than Kostas because of his position. He is joining the Lakers flexible guard rotation behind the likes of Danny Green, J.R. Smith, and Dion Waiters. Lakers will experiment before they know the rotation exactly, so Tucker stands a chance to get solid minutes.
Both of these players haven’t shown their upside at an NBA level yet, but if they are progressing the way Dion Waiters thinks they are, the Lakers have something to look forward to.
