Los Angeles Lakers: Talent Differential On Display Versus Cavaliers

At 13-38, it is clear that the 2014-15 Los Angeles Lakers are a team with serious issues. Injuries, inexperience, and players that simply don’t fit in the system are a few of the problems facing one of the NBA’s most storied franchise this season.

The most glaring drawback to this roster? An extreme lack of talent.

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Of course, most people that have been following the Lakers this season have long understood the disadvantage the team has from a basketball talent standpoint. Even their marquee star, Kobe Bryant, has been eroding for several years. The summer of 2014, one promising elite-level talent for a franchise that has made it’s money on acquiring just that, came up absolutely empty.

The only prize the Los Angeles Lakers claimed this offseason was forward Julius Randle, the seventh overall pick out of Kentucky, who played a mere 14 minutes before a broken leg ended his rookie campaign.

Draftees chosen in the lottery of the NBA’s draft typically are expected to range anywhere from “franchise-changing talent” to “quality rotation player.” Even those chosen in the latter rounds of the draft are expected to contribute eventually. The problem is that, even with the injured Julius Randle, the Los Angeles Lakers have made two first-round selections since 2009: Randle and guard Toney Douglas, who was traded to New York on draft night.

Professional sports are talent driven, and it’s hard to argue that any league is more so than the NBA. The teams that met in the past two NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat, were anchored by former first overall picks (Tim Duncan and LeBron James). The 2013-14 runners up in both conferences featured superstars selected in the first round by their teams (Kevin Durant and Paul George).

Against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers played 10 players. Those 10 players had an average draft position of 37th overall. The five starters for the Lakers had an average draft position of about 48th overall. Note: Undrafted players were given the designation of the lowest selection possible in the NBA Draft (60th overall).

By contrast, the Cavaliers played ten players in that game as well, with their players sporting an average draft position of about 25th overall. Their starters claimed an average draft position of 17th overall.

Obviously, in the grand scheme of things the average draft position of a roster means nothing. Each draft is different, draft position is not always entirely dependent on talent, and career success is not defined on where in the draft a player is taken.

Perhaps nobody knows more about this than Wesley Johnson, the only top-five drafted player on the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster. Johnson has played for three teams, and is now in his fifth season in the NBA. He played 29 minutes off the bench for the Lakers on Sunday.

So, if draft position doesn’t define the basketball talent of a particular player (or roster), then why have I spilled so much virtual-ink on detailing the disparity between the Lakers and Cavaliers in that area? Because it illustrates the situation the Lakers have put themselves in by continuing to forgo using the draft as a means of team building, and why the talent gap likely won’t narrow until a few of the Lakers’ own first round picks are thrown into the roster mix.

Right now the Los Angeles Lakers are using a starting lineup of one first round draft choice (Wayne Ellington, 28th overall), three second round draft picks (Jordan Clarkson, 46th overall; Ryan Kelly, 48th; Robert Sacre, 60th), and one undrafted player (Tarik Black). A few of these players could certainly develop into contributors on very good teams. It’s unlikely that any of them will be one of the best three players on a very good team.

That is the risk run when draft assets are constantly thrown into the trade winds. The team has been forced to get younger by investing in second round picks, grabbing undrafted free agents, and gambling on other teams’ unwanted first-round busts. To get any better, the team will need begin to re-embrace the draft, and add quality contributors not matter where they land in the first round.

It will be a long process, but eventually the Los Angeles Lakers will be able to close the talent gap.

Next: Top-Five Pick, No-Lose Situation For The Lakers

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