SUMMARY
- The Lakers drafted Jaden McDaniels in 2020 but traded him for Dennis Schroder ahead of the season.
- While the Lakers faced a first-round elimination, McDaniels was responsible for sending the Nuggets home in the second round.
When the Los Angeles Lakers initially acquired Anthony Davis, they were quite unstoppable. This 52-19 team managed to secure the top seed in the Western Conference and ripped through the post-season to win the title. But since then, the Lakers have looked extremely out of sync. They’ve traded multiple valuable pieces to get rising stars onto the roster. However, nothing has worked in their favor.
Some cool Jaden McDaniels stocks from the playoffs thus far pic.twitter.com/1Nk4aid3qQ
— Jake Paynting (@HowlsAndGrowls_) May 22, 2024
During the 2020 NBA Draft, the LA Lakers selected Jaden McDaniels as the 28th overall pick. However, he was eventually traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Dennis Schroder, and then later shipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves before the start of the season. Unfortunately, the Lakers never found much success with Schroder as their primary point guard and the Wolves acquired a DPOY-caliber star.
Jaden McDaniels wouldn’t have been able to flourish under LeBron James
Right now, the Timberwolves are about to make their first Western Conference Finals appearance in 20 years. Jaden McDaniels has been arguably their best defender in the playoffs as well averaging 12.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 blocks, and a steal per game. And while McDaniels is being praised for his post-season showing, the Lakers made a first-round exit.
McDaniels was a major reason why the Timberwolves managed to push the Denver Nuggets series to Game 7. Defensively, he was their star player who shut down players like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. from any offensive onslaught.
Watch Jaden McDaniels on Jamal Murray through this whole possession. pic.twitter.com/xJ4L2z6yqd
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 17, 2024
Unlike the Lakers, the Timberwolves don’t necessarily have ball-dominant players on the roster. In hindsight, trading McDaniels was in his best interests since playing under LeBron James or Anthony Davis would have allowed him to spread his wings. This is something Austin Reaves is currently facing. He’s a player with extremely high offensive potential but he isn’t relied on as much as the All-Star duo.
The Lakers desperately need a player of Jaden McDaniel’s caliber
During the Nuggets vs Lakers first-round series, Porter Jr. and Murray were the defending champions’ biggest assets. They were more or less the reasons why the Lakers were eliminated too. But the Timberwolves had the defensive assets at all positions, unlike the Lakers. Just as much as McDaniels put clamps on the opposition, the Wolves worked together as a team and stepped up wherever they needed to.
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) May 21, 2024
But McDaniels or any player of his caliber would’ve been a much better fit for the Lakers in the playoffs over D’Angelo Russell. His post-season run seemed incredibly lacklustre even going scoreless during one of their games in the Denver series. Overall, the Lakers should realize they need to prioritize defense way more than offense at this point.