Lakers failure to develop young players must improve to compete in West

When JJ Redick took over as the Lakers’ head coach in June 2024, he and Rob Pelinka, the franchise’s general manager and now president of basketball operations, laid out many emphases that fit into their vision of the franchise.Among them was player development – with the exact phrase being mentioned by Redick and Pelinka at least 13 times during Redick’s introductory press conference on June 24, 2024.Nearly 2 ½ years later, the Lakers’ player development system is coming back into focus after they waived 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht Monday to become compliant with the league’s rules, trimming their roster from 16 to 15 players signed to standard NBA deals.The decision highlighted the Lakers’ struggles with maximizing younger players over the last few years.If they are going to compete with the best of the Western Conference, led by the Spurs and Thunder, they must make a drastic improvement in this area.And soon. Knecht, along with second-round pick Bronny James, who Redick once referred to as “case study one” for the franchise’s player development program after the team drafted the son of LeBron James with the No.55 pick in the 2024 draft, made up the Lakers’ first draft class after Redick was hired.The Lakers also had 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino and second-round pick Maxwell Lewis entering their second NBA seasons as Redick was brought on board. But the Lakers have very little to show from the players in those draft classes.Hood-Schifino? Traded to the Jazz, and immediately waived by Utah, as part of the three-team trade that brought superstar guard Luka Doncic to Los Angeles after an unremarkable 1 ½ seasons with the Lakers.Lewis? Currently playing overseas after playing just 41 games for the Lakers, and two seasons in the NBA. With Knecht now gone, Bronny is the Lakers’ lone draft pick from 2023 and 2024 still on the roster. Even though he’s made significant strides in his development, to the point of being ...