Even though the Los Angeles Lakers failed to bring in any of the big names that they had been linked to this summer, there has still been plenty of optimism surrounding the team thanks to the plethora of young talent on the roster. That has not gone unnoticed to GM Mitch Kupchak.
Much of that talent was on display during Summer League as D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., Brandon Ingram, and Ivica Zubac all showed signs of their great potential.
According to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, Kupchak feels the optimism amongst fans:
“I sense some excitement among the fans, which hopefully will carry over,” Kupchak said before the Lakers closed out summer league play with a 92-88 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday. “Some of our best players are not here — Julius [Randle], Jordan [Clarkson] and, of course, the veterans, some of which we had last year and some of which we signed — Luol [Deng] and [Timofey] Mozgov.”
Kupchak also noted that he likes the mixture of young and old players the Lakers have, but added that it will take time for those young players to really come together:
“So overall, I like where we are. I like our mixture from young players, which are really what the future is all about. We’re very hopeful that two or three of them can develop into real, real productive NBA players. [But], I think, as you know, it’s hard to get a player to change overnight. It takes time.”
No one can deny that there is definitely a different feeling surrounding this Lakers team than in the previous couple of seasons. Even if the wins don’t necessarily come this season, setting the foundation will help the Lakers for years to come.
In Russell, Nance, Clarkson, Ingram, Randle, and Zubac the Lakers have plenty of talent to build around and fans have every reason to be excited about the potential of this team.