20 Pre-Season Questions: #17 – Is Morrison Going to Have a Role?

As we rev up for what is sure to be an exciting title defense season for the Los Angeles Lakers, there are still some questions that need answering before the season starts.  Time to play 20 questions with the Lakers and their pre-season prognosis for the 2009-2010 season.

Question #17: Out of nowhere, Phil Jackson has been talking lately about giving Adam Morrison a decent role in this year’s Laker rotation.  Is this just talk, or is Phil going to give the former top pick a chance at regular minutes?

Wake up, Adam.  You might actually get to play this year!

When Phil Jackson first started talking about trying to find a spot in the rotation for Adam Morrison my only reaction was to ask why?  What is it that Morrison brings to the table that Phil needs to take advantage of?  The Lakers already have a token white guy (Luke Walton), so that can’t be it.  He seems to be doing just fine in his current role of “the guy with the bad facial hair who clearly doesn’t fit in in the locker room.”  This seemed to work out just fine last year, why mess with it?

Well, I’ll tell you why.  The Lakers need three-point shooters.  If there is an upgrade that the Lakers can make to their offense it is surrounding Kobe and the big men with more three-point marksmen.  They have Fisher right now and that is pretty much it.  They do also have Ron Artest who shot just under 40% from downtown last year, but he isn’t used to being a spot-up shooter, so there is some concern there.  Everyone else on the roster is a toss up.  Sasha Vujacic used to be able to shoot, but forgot how late last season and there is no telling if he will ever remember.  Jordan Farmar is only OK as a shooter and Shannon Brown has shown some promise from downtown but has no real track record of success.  When it comes to other three-point shooting small forwards, the Lakers have only Luke Walton and his career 33.3 career 3PT%.  So, there is actually a pretty obvious need for another reliable three-point shooter.

Enter Adam Morrison who is now two full years removed from tearing his ACL and has reportedly been impressing the heck out of the coaching staff with his shooting during camp.  But shooting in practice is much different than shooting in a game, especially when you are one of the worst athletes in the NBA, which Morrison already was before he blew out his knee.  His inability to get himself open to use his excellent shooting touch has damned him so far in career, so there is a real question as to whether he can change that now.

Let’s just say that Morrison’s game isn’t exactly “above the rim.”

Final Answer: Laker fans shouldn’t be too excited about seeing much of Ammo this year.  He will probably dress most nights, but will most likely only see spot minutes at small forward when Artest is resting and the Lakers desperately need a three-point shooter.  Getting open won’t be such a big deal for Adam as a Laker since the defense will be focused elsewhere, but what will ultimately prevent him from getting playing time is his complete and total inability to defend.  No matter how well he shoots, Phil won’t stand for him getting any playing time once he realizes how many point Adam will give up on the other end of the floor.  Ultimately, the biggest role Ammo will have this year will be as a trade chip thanks to his ~$5 million expiring contract.

Tags: Adam Morrison, Analysis, Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Phil Jackson, pre-season, Ron Artest, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown