The Los Angeles Lakers may have lost Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency, but they were able to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign both Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton.
While all the headlines concerned Ayton and how he filled the Lakers’ biggest need in the middle of the paint, LaRavia shouldn’t go overlooked either. LaRavia split time between the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings during the 2024-25 season, but showed enough promise to warrant a two-year deal from Los Angeles.
At 23 years old, LaRavia’s got plenty of upside and development left as a player, but one of the skills that should translate early on is his outside shooting. While the forward didn’t attempt many 3-pointers last season, he did shoot over 40 percent on his limited attempts which lends some optimism that he can continue to grow as a shooter.
Head coach JJ Redick recruited LaRavia in free agency and the latter explained how he thinks his coach can help him grow more as a shooter.
“When we were on the phone and he had first called me, I told him, ‘Dude, I used to watch you.’ It’s so cool for that to happen in any way. Even with players it’s like I grew up watching you and now I get to play alongside you or I grew up watching you and now I’m guarding you. And now it’s like I grew up watching you and now you’re my coach,” LaRavia told Lakers Nation.
“And even from watching him back then being a movement shooter and you don’t even really see that kind of archetype anymore where it’s just like the constant movement, off ball, sharpshooter. So I think in that way because I haven’t really fully developed into that kind of shooter yet where I’m lower volume right now, I think he can maximize my game into where I’m taking more attempts per game, maintaining that 40 percent 3-point shooting average and then just becoming an elite shooter at a high volume.”
Redick knows better than almost anyone how to be an effective long-range shooter in the NBA, so LaRavia has got an excellent resource in his head coach. LaRavia already seems to understand that he’ll be asked to be an all-around type of player but his outside shooting will go a long way in making him a permanent member of the rotation.
Rob Pelinka describes Jake LaRavia as high IQ, two-way player
Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka did well to sign Jake LaRavia in free agency and went on to call him a high IQ two-way player that fits the team’s system.
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