While most of the attention on the Lakers this draft season stem from them holding the #2 overall pick, the team also holds the #32 selection in the upcoming draft. With that, we will be having a series of posts on potential options for that selection. This installment looks at Louisville big man Chinanu Onuaku.
Chinanu Onuaku
Center, 6’10, 245 lbs. Sophomore, Louisville, 19 years old
2015-16 stats:
24.6 minutes, 9.9 points, 62.0 field goal percentage, 58.9 free throw percentage, 1.6 assists, 8.5 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 2.0 blocks.
Big Board Rankings:
Draft Express – 38, CBS – 33, Sports Illustrated – 43, ESPN (Chad Ford) – 35
Strengths:
At 6’10 and 245 pounds, Chinanu Onuaku makes for an interesting draft prospect for the Lakers. As mentioned in my first draft profile on Stephen Zimmerman, the Lakers could be looking for some depth at the center position. At 6’10”, Onuaku may not be the tallest center, but he’s got a long wingspan (7’3) for his size, a developing frame (245 pounds), and has solid strength for a 19-year-old.
Thanks to his long wingspan and strength, Onuaku was able to block two shots per game in just 24.6 minutes a night, good for third in the ACC. Altogether, he was able to post the second-best defensive rating in the entire NCAA at 84.9. His interior defense is what most people are looking at when talking about his strengths.
Meanwhile, Onuaku is a pretty good pick-n-roll player on offense. He’s got solid hands and can finish around the rim pretty well. If he’s not finishing around the rim, then he’s trying to grab offensive rebounds. The sophomore grabbed 13.7 percent of all offensive rebounds adding up to about 2.7 offensive rebounds per game which placed him fourth in the ACC and ninth in total offensive rebounds.
Weaknesses:
On the offensive side of the ball, Onuaku doesn’t have much of an offensive game outside of the paint. Although he shot 62 percent from the floor, he only attempted seven shots a game. As you can see from the shot chart, Onuaku hardly took any shots outside of a few feet. His free throw percentage jumping up from 46 percent to 58 percent gives a glimmer of hope, but then again Onuaku started shooting his free throws granny style.
The turnovers for Onuaku also stood out. In his second season at Louisville, he averaged a little over two turnovers per game and had a turnover percentage of almost 21 percent. A big man who turns the ball over on a fifth of his touches isn’t ideal.
On the defensive side, Onuaku has his struggles, as well. Despite his two blocks per game, he had a very high foul rate, fouling almost five times per 40 minutes. This comes with Onuaku’s maturity level. There are times where he gets frustrated and too emotional. Because of that, he starts to slack off on defense, not move as well and reach a lot more.
Where he fits in with the Lakers:
Onuaku seems to be a popular pick by Lakers fans at 32 overall. He’s only 19 and can certainly grow into a solid defender, but he worries me on the offensive side of the ball. He should be okay in pick-n-roll, but there’s really not much else he can contribute. He’s shown some potential as a passer, which would really work with Luke Walton, but then he also turns it over a lot. If the Lakers are going to want even a little bit of spacing, it’s going to be hard to pair Onuaku with Julius Randle or Larry Nance on the court. However, he and Nance could be pretty fun on defense.
Onuaku is only 19 and doesn’t turn 20 until after the next season starts, so he does have room to grow. If he can keep his emotions in check, finish around the rim, and play interior defense like he projects to, he could be a good second round find for the Lakers. He probably won’t get more than a few minutes a game, so the Lakers would have to be patient with him.
Marlon Blodgett says
Yeah this pick is so important, without finding a kid that can replace Sacre or Kelly one of them will be resigned,therefore the bottom of our roster will not improve. If we take a center here he needs to be all of 6′ 11″ with some skill that we can develop. Maybe a combo forword type like Bentil or zimmerman, It looks like many of the bigs are moving up so we may have to go for the absolute best talent at 32, I think that it would be easy to duplicate terrick black here . lets sign terrick and brandon bass before Sacre and Kelly and see if we can take the 32 and push anthony brown for a roster spot, then try a mosgov type in free agency ,or another good young back up with potential.
bleedpurplegold says
Great article as usual…
i like our depth at C, black is a very servicable backup and sacre can wave the towel, hand out some drinks and play garbage time…
i would prefer a 3 and D prospect with our 2nd round pick, or an european prospect who will come in a year or two…..
Vasheed says
That actually impresses me that he will shoot free throws granny style. It is an easier shot and if you are shooting sub 70% you should be trying it. I do think the Lakers should draft a Center at #32. However, there are a lot of options likely to be available and given Onuaku’s inability to play beyond the paint and PF height, I don’t think I would want to draft him at this position.
Anon#1 says
I see a lot of asterisk statements being made about possible draft picks and free agents being paired with Julius. Onuaku is an example: “It’s going to be hard to pair Onuaku with Julius Randle” the assumption being that neither is offensively efficient beyond the paint. Not that I’m concerned about missing out on Onuaku.
This concern was also raised about Simmons and Randle. As well as Whiteside or Biyombo and Randle. Again, the concern is having have two front court players that can’t stretch the defense. Conversely, Ingram is deemed a better fit because he has range on his shot and that compensates for Randle’s lack of range.
I heard on the radio yesterday and interview with former Bruin Don MacLean. He runs a workout camp that helps top players get ready for their pre-draft workouts (Russell worked out with him last year). MacLean said that when he discusses how the workouts went for his players all of them are saying, including the frontcourt ones, that teams are looking for 3 pt range on their shots. A 7 footer come back and tell Don that offensively, the team that worked him out, asked him to spend more time beyond the arc than inside the paint.
The League is fully embracing the Warriors style of play. While the Lakers have made a good hire in bringing Walton, a helpful architect of GS’s style, the Lakers really have only one building block that fits that style of play: Russell.
I guess my realization is that the Lakers may not have a roster that fits the current NBA 3 pt trend and more importantly — it is not be talented enough to exert its own style on other teams. This rebuilding road could take longer than we think — especially if some of the pieces we already have are deemed not to be good fits going forward.
smokedaddy says
I love the Warriors and their approach. But if NBA teams are going to insist on players like Porzingis or Draymond at the 4 and 5 spots then they’ll be passing on some really productive talent. Granted, the Lakers need more productivity from the perimeter. That doesn’t mean we hold ourselves hostage to the current obsession on this front when it comes to finding a defensively valuable center with some offensive skills and athleticism inside the paint at pick #32. Our only real way to enhance this tea m short of blowing up this entire roster is for Randle et al to, you know, actually get better at the fundamentals of shooting and defense. Very possible btw. 2nd rd picks can contribute in important ways but not if we’re expecting them to be Hakeem Olajuwon out there in order to “fit” with what we’ve got.
Chibi says
I watched Louisville several times this season and Onuaku’s pursuit of the ball, quickness, and passing stood out.
A Horse With No Name says
Anon #1: I’m sure the lakers are acutely aware of where the roster is now and where they would like it to be in order to run a warriors- like offense. First thing is, getting players who can shoot, pass, and defend. This is an ongoing process. Sure, grab guys where you can; free agency, trades etc. But more realistically, and more importantly, is developing your players. Draymond Green could not shoot the three at all, as a draftee and first year player. But he had the drive to get better, and the warriors player development staff worked hard to help him improve. It’s paid off big time. I’m not saying Julius Randle is going to start burying 3’s at a great clip, but he has the work ethic and native ability to hugely improve. A guy like Chinanu Onuaku is of course, an unfinished prospect. I don’t think the warriors expected Festus Ezeli to space the floor when they drafted him (he still can’t), but there was enough skill and physical attributes in him for their needs at center. Not everyone is going to be a floor spacer; but can they contribute in other ways to make the offense work? Ezeli sets big time screens and is a competent roll man. Those are important skills in the warrior’s offense, as they would be in the lakers future offense. One knock on Onuaku is his foul rate; Ezeli had the same issue coming out of college–he’s improved there–but is still foul prone. Point being; what may appear to be a bunch of pieces without clear fit, may instead be pieces whose edges need smoothing and finishing for the whole to emerge.
rubenowski says
Caleb, thanks for your look into Onuaku.
Sorry to be off topic here, but I really hope I dont jinx it when I say that I think many people are underestimating Ingram. He’s not even 19 yet and could actually still grow in stature. Ingram will bulk up and he will be a stronger player down the line. I really hope he plays with a chip on his shoulder and wins rookie of the year. Most importantly, though, I hope I’m not jinxing it.
A Horse With No Name says
smokedaddy: Didn’t see your post before–pretty much my take too.
matt says
Usually big men get picked higher then their projected spot, so this could be a possibility.
Chris J says
The NBA moves in cycles, and right now everyone wants to play a free-moving, three-point-shooting style that’s similar to the Spurs or Golden State. What these scouts who expect big men to stretch the floor are missing is that it takes a certain style of player to make that work, and while the plus-shooting four (and five) has become more common, it’s still not something every player can or should do.
Popovich will switch up styles to suit his players, so in their championship era we’ve seen them play double bigs in Duncan and Robinson, run the offense through a good scoring one in Parker, and now they emphasis movement and spacing to fit their current roster. San Antonio can do that because it has a brilliant coach.
Golden State is blessed with two of the greatest perimeter shooters ever, and clearly the best shooting combo in league history. Others can’t replicate Curry and Thompson. They just can’t.
It reminds me of when the Lakers landed Pau and the whole league flipped on its ear, like when Phoenix added Shaq to attempt to find a big man to counter the Lakers’ front court depth. GMs react.
It’s like the NFL — spread offenses and quick receivers force defenses to go smaller and faster, and suddenly some team will come along with a huge O-line and bulky running back and those defenses now can’t stop that team. So teams add bigger defenders and the league bulks up, only to open up a new avenue for small, fast guys to thrive again when that becomes the anomaly.
The Lakers need to add talent and build a system that fits that talent. Quit trying to be the Warriors if you don’t have Curry or Klay; don’t try to be the late 90s Spurs if you have no big man… find good players, build to their strengths, and quit trying to do the same things the next guy does. There is more than one way to win in basketball.
smokedaddy says
Thank you Chris You said it better than anyone. Watching all the team sports, one really does wonder at the copycat mentality so prevalent and so filled with futility Like Chris, were I a GM and coach in any team sport, I’d tend towards players that are out of fashion and thus attainable and who other teams are now not geared up to stop. Of course, this requires the GM and coach either being one and the same, or ideally j.ust having a good, close understanding of their strategy and players as well as changes in the rules
rr says
Good points by Chris J. I would add there is a widespread belief today that with no illegal defenses, more access to advanced metrics and granular video data and some other factors, that coaching is a bigger deal than ever, so we hear a lot now about systems and cultures, and with Leonard, Green and Curry’s unusual career arcs fueling success in SA and GS, we hear a lot about player development.
People thought Popovich was a great coach in 1999, 2003, 2005, and they thought that Phil was a great coach in 1996, 2001 and 2010. But there was also very open acknowledgement of the fact that they had the horses. OKC and CLE get more traditional narratives in terms of management/coach/star credit than SA and GS often do.
So, as I noted a couple of weeks ago with a popular and personable guy from the Golden State win machine taking over for Byron Scott, some of this will be put to the test by what happens to the Lakers under Walton, with the idea that Julius Randle can be compared to Draymond Green as the first flashpoint.
Curry was one of the greatest shooters ever before Kerr took over in Golden State, but Kerr has leveraged it better than Jackson had been, but yes: no one can match them. They were both hitting 40% of their 3s before Kerr was hired.
Chris J says
I think Phil is more of the exception in that he used the same system throughout, whether he had an All-Star center like Shaq or Pau or a comparable stiff like Bill Cartwright or Luc Longley. The common denominator was an all-universe two guard.
But as I said before, San Antonio has won titles with three very different styles of play. Going back a bit further Pat Riley won with run and gun, and a largely unrecognized half court mastery of the late 80s Lakers; he got to Game 7 of the Finals with a grind-it-out team in New York; and won another in Miami with Wade and Shaq playing 1-2 punch. Rick Carlisle has put out different focuses for his team’s, based on what Dirk had around him… Boston’s coach plays to his Guy’s strengths now. I could go on, but the point is the great coaches and organizations find ways to win with what they have on the roster. That’s what I hope Walton can do over time.
Dom says
I think its pretty simplistic to simply think that GS is merely a 3 point shooting team.. A roster has to have flexibility to execute depending on circumstance. If you have a team that is adept at defending the 3 pt line you have to have a means to counter it with system and talent. Luke is bringing much more than GS’s style and offense, he is bringing a culture and a philosophy. What make GS effect isn’t just great 3 pt shooting, they are a team of very high IQ players who understand whats in front of them and make adjustments in game. Having multidimensional players both offensively and defensively are an absolute necessity as the team builds its roster. Right now the team needs complete players not long term projects or specialists. In time as the culture, philosophy, and systems are cemented you can then look for specialty players, right now i think the team needs to most well rounded fundamentally sound players they can draft.
Craig W. says
Dom,
In this particular draft I think that means Ingram. Whether he shows it next year or not, he would seem to be the best all round player to help with the foundation.
Chris J says
I don’t believe anyone here is dismissive of the Warriors as merely a three-point shooting team. I know that wasn’t anything I wrote. But the Warriors offense is so special in massive part because of the shooting talent of Curry and Thompson. My point was other teams can’t say, “Let’s play like that” if they don’t have the shooters to make it work.
I agree in the hope that Luke will bring a winning culture and creativity back into the locker room. Byron came from a winner years ago, but he didn’t convey winning to this group of Lakers the past two seasons.
Craig W. says
The Lakers in 1980 were different from the Lakers in 1988, but they are all the Showtime Lakers to us. The most successful coaches, from Red to Pop, have been able to adjust what they were doing to who was on their roster. The talent that flows from this is to ask players to do what they do best. It is only the player themselves who can change a weakness into a strength, and it is Mitch’s job to find players who will try to do that.
bluehill says
It’s no surprise that teams are trying to emulate GSW, but as others have noted those teams need legitimate outside shooters to make it work.
I do think it’s leading to one significant evolutionary change in the requirements for big men in that they need to be more agile and quicker to be able to defend further away from the basket and cover smaller players as well as having a mid-range shot, some ball-handling and passing ability. It’s the difference between KAT and Okafor. I read on some blog that Okafor would have been the perfect pick for the 1995 draft.
I think that means that “traditional” centers may be passed over for more “modern” big men. That will change the way that younger players develop their skills in order to be more attractive in the draft and so on. It’s kind of like how the left tackle became such an important position in football.
Anyways, I think this is a good time to be a basketball fan because the game seems like it’s going through some significant changes.
Dom says
Ive been sold on Ingram all year Craig. Potential, upside all are factors but when you look at the tape you see fire in Ingram. He will fill out ala Anthony Davis and KD. I also love his first step. My point was it is too early to start thinking specialists or one dimensional players. Down the road perhaps but for now the more complete the player the more effective the roster will be.
Patrick Lanigan says
Won’t really need Onuaku if we sign Whiteside as a FA.
Anonymous says
Won’t really need Onuaku if we sign Whiteside as a FA.
—
That’s a big ‘if’.
Patrick Lanigan says
It is a big if, but this team needs to target (and get) a center in free agency, which makes Onuaku of very limited value.
matt says
It will be interesting to see who the Hawks at 21, the hornets at 22, the suns at 28, and the celtics at 31 take in this draft, most likely all 4 of these teams take centers, and if that happens it thins out the center position by the time it gets to us, you can also throw the spurs at 29 and the warriors at 30 in there, that makes 6 teams, if all those teams take a big, maybe we can get a steal at another position, the injury prone sg caris lavert could fall to us, he has some great moves, also pg tyler ulis, and keep your eye on sg/sf luwawu, the need for a big in this draft is there and it could cause talent to fall to us.
If those teams don’t take a big we would go that route.
I’m saying our team is so young with so many holes, we should draft the best player.
matt says
Also the lakers worked out skal labissier, who is projected to go #10-20, so don’t rule out a trade, i don’t think they are thinking about taking him at #2
Also if boston doesn’t make a big trade i will be shocked
smokedaddy says
With this draft, all of these players, including the top 2, have question marks. That said There may not be much difference between having the #3 pic vs the #43 pick. This is a draft with depth, particularly at the 4 and 5 spot. On DraftExpress I counted 15 players in the top 50 who are listed at C or C/PF. At 19 yo, Onuaku ranks high with respect to to what we need right now with further upside if he develops more offensive skills. Whether or not we get Whiteside. That said, lets not pretend that 19 year old with the 32nd pick is going to be plugged in for 30 min/game and make a big difference next year. He won’t
matt says
Conspiracy theory the nba in an attempt to extend the playoffs, suspended draymond green for 1 game
rubenowski says
How about the NBA suspends Draymond because that’s AT LEAST the second time he goes after someone’s nuts in the playoffs? The guy was told he was being watched. Come on.
david h says
seems the nba went hormonal on their decision to suspend draymond green for game 5 of the nba championships. I expect the warriors to come out and literally destroy LeBron’s cavaliers tonite; if not and draymond’s absence proves pivotal; although stunning in and of itself; a National Eunuch Basketball Association should be considered to offset this ridiculous circumstance.
Note to Luke Walton: we’re chomping at the bit; just a bit.
Go lakers
T. Rogers says
How about the NBA suspends Draymond because that’s AT LEAST the second time he goes after someone’s nuts in the playoffs? The guy was told he was being watched. Come on.
—
Come on now. LeBron initiated the contact. He threw him down. And, if you watch the video closely, you can see LeBron pause, look down, and wait for Green to begin getting up. THEN he steps over him. Worst of all LeBron then lobbies for the league to “look at it” in the post game presser.
Its the NBA Finals. The league needs to be careful about having such a heavy hand at this point in the season. Its a bad look for the league. And its a bad look for LeBron.
Lastly, the league needs to start holding its refs more accountable. How can a flagrant be assessed on a play where their referees didn’t even call a common foul? So its a flagrant to the league. But the ref standing right there 10 ft from the sequence didn’t even think it was a foul. The refs have been letting stuff like that go since game one. But its becomes an issue n now because LeBron James complained. I guess Steven Adams has no pull in the NBA front office.
R says
I like the warriors, am rooting for them, don’t care for the way LBJ presents himself, enjoy him losing, am confident he baited green.
However, having said all that, green would be well advised to stop flicking his extremities at crotches. It’s a bad look for Draymond Green.
LT Mitchell says
Walking over Draymond was a punk move by Lebron…but Lebron did NOT make the initial contact. If you watch closely, Draymond (subtly) put his arm on Lebron first, which led to Lebron swinging his arm upwards to clear space in retaliation. Draymond then tried to sell the foul by flopping violently. Initiating contact and flopping when the other person retaliates is a technique that has been used by all the all time great floppers, including Divac, Raja, Blake, CP3, etal. Draymond did such a masterful job here that even in replays, it’s difficult to see that he initiated contact and flopped.
Both guys were in the wrong here, and Lebron deservedly received a tech, but considering this was the third time that Draymond has hit below the belt in the last two rounds, he absolutely deserved a suspension.
rubenowski says
T. Rogers,
We can discuss who initiated the contact, sure, but that’s not the issue. Nevertheless, as LT Mitchell points out, Draymond starts putting his arm back towards Lebron, and so the initial contact was not solely Lebron’s. But let’s just say the initial contact was part of normal play on both players. Due to the angle of his body, Draymond either fell back or flopped; it doesn’t really matter to the purpose of this discussion. But then, if you watch closely, Draymond holds Lebron’s leg for a fraction of a second. Whether that’s intentional or not, only Draymond can say. But I think that in the moment, that’s enough to guide Lebron’s movement a bit. Walking over Draymond may or may not have been done to piss him off. Regardless, Draymond went for the balls. You can give Lebron a flagrant or a tech as well, I don’t care. But you gotta give Draymond a flagrant for that. Furthermore, this is at least Draymond’s second time going for the nuts in the last two series and he’s accumulated flagrants. This is not a one time thing. So he’s not getting suspended for doing it against Lebron. He’s getting suspended for having so many flagrants in the playoffs. I’m glad he did not get suspended in the OKC series, but I agree that the shot on Adams was flagrant (I also think he deserved a flagrant for taking him down by the arm.) After that, Draymond should’ve known better. You can only warn a guy so many times. Had Draymond done it to someone else and had the Cavs complained to the league privately about it and had the league reviewed it, the result would probably be the same. I missed his shot at the nuts when I was watching the game, and I saw the replay a couple of times and still missed it, so I don’t blame the refs for missing it in live action. I had no idea Draymond went for the nuts again until the next day when I saw it on ESPN. It was a quick move done by a very savvy defender. Let’s not kid ourselves, Draymond is extremely savvy. I think all good defenders are. It’s part of the defensive mentality. I do think the refs were letting stuff go, even compared to the first 3 games of the series. It was way too physical by modern NBA standards.
Now we can debate whether or not the league should have suspended him. That pretty much rests on whether you think the rules are fair or not and whether they should be followed. But to say that it’s a conspiracy? That’s where I say, “come on, dude.” Draymond knew the consequences of his actions. He was told he was being watched. He lost it when he got tea bagged. It’s not a conspiracy if you know what can happen ahead of time.
LKK says
I agree with T Rogers. I think the real culprit here is referee Danny Crawford. He was standing right there when LeBrawn threw Green down to initiate the sequence. Some argue that Green flopped, but it appeared to me that James caught him off balance and sort of tripped him as well. If Crawford calls the foul on Brawny, none of the rest happens.
I also think crew chief Crawford and the other two officials let this game get out of control in terms of the amount of contact they allowed. I understand that it’s the playoffs. There is, however, a difference between “letting ’em play” and completely ignoring fouls, especially shooting fouls. That changes the course of the game. When Jeff Van Gundy, who never met a hard foul he didn’t like, decries the amount of contact being allowed, that causes me to to say hmmmm.
Seen in a vacuum, the amount of contact by Draymond to LeBrawn’s nads on that particular play wasn’t suspension worthy. His body of work and accumulation of flagrants this post season left the league little choice but to follow its guidelines. My question is when do they suspend crew chief Crawford? His inaction exacerbated this situation.
matt says
I finally watched the draftexpress video on this guy he looks like a good player strictly defense not a numbers guy, moves well, looks like good coaching and experience would improve his game, maybe a biyombo type in a year or so.
matt says
It was not mentioned here that chinanu had some type of injury, I don’t know what it was.