Los Angeles Lakers: Earl Clark’s Potential Role
First Steve Nash went down with a busted back. Julius Randle followed soon thereafter with a terrible leg injury that ended his rookie year. Ryan Kelly tore his hamstring after battling with problems in that area all preseason, and now Xavier Henry has been ruled out for the year with a ruptured Achilles.
Yet again, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking like a M*A*S*H* unit more than they are a basketball team.
Because of the injury issues, the team has been negotiating a deal with free agent forward Earl Clark. He played with the Lakers in the 2012-13 season, serving as a starting power forward at times for the Mike D’Antoni-led squad.
He certainly won’t have that distinction if he joins the club for a second stint, but there is the potential for this move to pay dividends, especially at the veteran minimum.
Currently a member of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Developmental League, Earl Clark is averaging 28.8 points per game with 7.3 rebounds per contest.
Obviously, he won’t even sniff those numbers at the NBA level, but he’s playing well against the competition he’s faced with, and a little scoring and rebounding would be a welcome addition to the Los Angeles Lakers bench.
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Another facet of Earl Clark’s game that would receive an invitation with open arms is the fact that he’s fairly athletic, and with a 6’10” frame he provides Byron Scott another player that could make this squad’s defensive efforts a little easier.
He’s never been an outstanding defender at the professional level, but you cannot teach length, and Clark certainly has it.
As a contributor off the bench, he would provide versatility to play both the small forward position and the power forward, opening up a few different lineups for the head coach depending on the situations that the team finds themselves in going forward.
Ideally, Clark would bring energy off the bench at the 4 slot, complimenting one of the bright spots on the roster in Ed Davis, who should continue to eat up the minutes as a backup center. The Lakers could benefit from the added depth, and any extra Clark provides would be a bonus.
In fact, at this point, Clark simply having a healthy body is a major addition for the Lakers. The team is absolutely paper thin, so Clark’s mere presence will be enough to justify his addition to the roster.
His versatility will be of equal value, the ability to wear multiple hats will be key in him surfacing as a guy who can attain real playing time for this team.
If the result is anything near his last stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, one that saw him net a nice contract from the Cleveland Cavaliers before fizzling out, then this is an endeavor well-worth it.
Of course in the end, the idea is to create a more competitive team, and the first step to that is having players who are healthy enough to compete. Even if that places the Lakers just a hair above the Philadelphia 76ers in terms of competitiveness, this move will be one that makes sense for the club.