Getty Damian Jones, new Lakers big man
The Lakers , after much discussion and speculation, finally added a player to the roster this week, and while that was no surprise, the identity of that player was—center Damian Jones, a former NBA first-round pick of the Warriors who has played only 118 games in five seasons and is still just 25 years old.
For executives around the league, the signing of Jones to a 10-day contract is a signal to the rest of the NBA about the Lakers’ intentions as the trade deadline approaches on March 25—the Lakers are seeking a patchwork fix for the lack of athleticism in the frontcourt, which means they’ll save more resources to address the roster’s other big need, more 3-point shooting.
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The Lakers have two open roster spots, with only a limited amount of available money under the luxury-tax apron to sign players. By signing Jones to a 10-day contract, the Lakers have made no firm commitment to him, and the team maintains its other open spot. That spot is likely to get a bigger investment from the Lakers, and it is expected to go to a player who can address the team’s shooting woes.
“You don’t sign Damian Jones thinking he is going to produce for you in the playoffs,” one general manager told Heavy.com. “He is a temporary solution, he can get them by until (Anthony Davis) is healthy. But they know they need a shooter and that is where their real focus is going to be over the next month. They need someone they can actually put on the floor in the playoffs.”
Lakers’ Perimeter Shooting Remains Woeful
The Lakers have been struggling badly to make perimeter shots, and it has been a team-wide problem. After a hot start from the arc, the Lakers swung wildly the other way, making just 31.2% from the 3-point line over a 20-game stretch dating back to January 18 and heading into Sunday’s game against the Warriors.
Even in their win over Portland on Friday, which ended a four-game losing streak, the Lakers were just 7-for-27 (25.9%) from the 3-point line. The freefall has been teamwide, but two of the players most expected to carry the Lakers’ perimeter-shooting mantle—Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wes Matthews—have been hit especially hard.
Before Feb. 1, the Lakers shot 39.4% on pull-up threes. It was 1st overall in efficiency.
Since Feb. 1, they are shooting 25.4% on pull-up threes. It’s 28th overall during that span.
I wrote about the Lakers’ outside struggles and the absence of AD:
KCP is shooting 28.8% from the 3-point line in his last 18 games and Matthews has seen his minutes plummet—he is shooting 18.2% from the 3-point line in his last eight games.
“They do not seem to think they are in bad shape with their big guys, it is just that everybody else thinks that,” one general manager told Heavy.com recently. “I mean, it is shooting for them. They’ve got to get some shooters.”
Signing Jones on a 10-day shows the Lakers will use the bulk of their limited resources—they have $1.6 million available under the apron after waiving Quinn Cook—to focus on addressing the perimeter problem.
Damian Jones Could Fill McGee-Howard Role
That’s not to say Jones might not prove to be useful.
Jones averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 14 games for Phoenix this year before the Suns waived him. Because of injuries and situation, he has never gotten much of an opportunity to play, but he entered the league as a mobile big man who has good shot-blocking instincts and can hold his own offensively.
Damian Jones is a GREAT flyer pick-up for the Lakers.
6’11, 7’4 wingspan – athletic, mobile (all things Whiteside & sadly DMC is not)
Immediately fills that “dunker spot, lob threat” role the Lakers have sorely missed in Javale & Dwight’s absence.
The Lakers have missed the two athletic, rim-protecting centers they had last season, JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard. They are giving up 32.2 shots per game within five feet of the rim this season, which is 26th. They gave up 31.0 such shots last year, which was 16th. They are allowing foes to shoot 60.6% from within five feet, up from 58.9% last year.
With undersize Montrezl Harrell and slow-footed Marc Gasol replacing McGee and Howard, the Lakers have needed more athleticism around the rim. Jones said he could bring that.
“It’s kind of like the JaVale and Dwight role last year,” Jones said. “How they could catch lobs and protect the rim and stuff like that. I try to bring some of the same things.”
There is some hope that Jones can, in fact, do that. But it is a longshot. His value, for now, is as a stopgap solution until the Lakers can focus on their real issue.
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