Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we look at Cameron Carr.
If you rule out Dalton Knecht’s hot start in his rookie campaign before petering out pretty rapidly, the last time the Lakers got notable production from their first round draft pick was…Lonzo Ball in 2017.
In fairness, they’ve traded a number of those picks, either for Anthony Davis or Dennis Schröder or Luka Dončić or when acquiring or dealing away Russell Westbrook. But going nearly a decade without any real impact from a first round pick is putting the team behind the eight ball, especially in comparison with the likes of the Spurs and Thunder built on the back of lots of first round picks.
Fans have been yearning for a young player to get excited about, so when Cameron Carr showed out this summer, it built up a lot of excitement and anticipation. He showed an ability to score at multiple levels and is a high-flyer, qualities that would get any fanbase excited.
With the Lakers shifting to a younger, more athletic version of the team this offseason, Carr feels like a natural fit. But how quickly can he make an impact?
What is his best-case scenario?
In Summer League, Carr’s off-ball scoring stood out as one of the skills that could translate most quickly to the NBA. He was able to knock down threes coming around screens on the perimeter, connect on mid-range jumpers on pindown screens or get to the rim on curls to the basket.
With one of Luka or Austin Reaves basically a lock to be on the floor, Carr is unlikely to be on the ball much. If he can continue to be a high-level scorer off the ball, though, then he’s going to find minutes. While the Lakers have many guards on the roster, none have the skill set as a scorer that Carr does, which should very well lead to him getting time on the floor.
If he can knock down shots consistently and provide a threat all over the floor that opponents have to be aware of, then he’s going to be in the rotation. The more he’s able to be impactful offensively, the more leeway he’ll get defensively, too.
He has the length to be a chaos creator on that end. If he can do enough of that while learning how to be a consistent defender on that end as well, then it’ll also help keep him on the floor.
What is his worst-case scenario?
What if he’s just Dalton Knecht 2.0? It feels harsh to say about Knecht, but considering how far he’s fallen, it’s hard to deny it.
Knecht has always struggled defensively, but made up for it by being a flamethrower on offense. When those shots stopped falling, his minutes dropped and, now, he’s reduced to garbage time cameos.
As with basically any rookie, he’s going to be a bad defender from the jump. But if he can’t improve on that end, similar to Knecht’s struggles, then it might be déjà vu all over again.
For him to go down that track, though, it would also require his offense to disappear. Given the variety of ways he can score, it feels less likely for that to happen, or at least not in the same way it did for Knecht. Instead, it might come in the way of his indecision or hesitation about when to shoot, drive, or pass.
In short, he looks like a rookie overwhelmed by bigger, faster and stronger players in the NBA.
What is his most likely role on the team?
Carr impressed enough in Summer League that it’s hard not to envision him getting a shot. That being said, the team is full of guards and Carr is going to have to distinguish himself from the pack.
As mentioned, he has the skill set to do that, but he still has to produce. Whether by way of a bigger rotation this season or stepping up when players miss time, Carr is going to get chances. He’ll likely be on the edge of the rotation to start the season.
Whether he bucks the trend of a decade of Lakers first round picks will be up to him.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
