With the Kobe Bryant era set to end soon, the future of the Los Angeles Lakers lays in the hands of their young core led by Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and D’Angelo Russell. Those three along with rookies Larry Nance Jr. and Anthony Brown make up the team’s young core.
Having such a young group makes things difficult in the present for the Lakers as they have experienced a lot of growing pains this season.
Despite the struggles of this season, the future remains bright for the Lakers young core and in a profile of Clarkson by Francisco Arechiga of East-West Bank, Clarkson talked about this group continuing to grow together:
“I feel like we’ve got a good young group with Julius [Randle], Larry Nance [Jr.], Anthony Brown, D’Angelo Russell and myself. This year’s a really good chance for us to grow and develop and learn as much as we can about one another, because I feel like we’re going to spend a lot of time together in the years to come,”
Even though the wins haven’t come regularly yet for the Lakers, the team is still in good position heading into the future. Clarkson has shown his rookie season was no fluke, Randle is among the league leaders in double-doubles in what amounts to his rookie season, and Russell is on his way to an All-Rookie First Team selection as well.
Not to be forgotten, Nance Jr. has been excellent and could also find himself on an All-Rookie team and Anthony Brown has shown potential as a defensive stopper on the wing. If these players are able to reach their true potential, it won’t be long before the Lakers are out of the lottery.