There were good moments and poor ones for Maxwell Lewis on Monday, a recurring trend for the young Laker already in his career.
LAS VEGAS — Have you ever had a project that you worked on that was a bit more than you could handle? Maybe it was a car that didn’t run and just needed a new muffler. Or perhaps an old piece of furniture that just needed refinishing and a little elbow grease?
Well, for the Lakers, that project is Maxwell Lewis.
Last year, Los Angeles drafted the Pepperdine alumnus with the No. 40 pick in the NBA Draft.
During his 2023 Summer League stint, he showed flashes of brilliance and had his family loud and vocal in the crowd, cheering on every pass, dunk, and highlight he participated in.
Selecting him in the second round, Lewis felt like a low-risk, high-reward prospect, perhaps a player who could blossom into more if given the time. With the Lakers desperately searching for wins during the 2022-23 season, Lewis spent most of his rookie season with the South Bay Lakers.
Now, with a new season approaching, Lewis is back in Las Vegas with the Summer League Lakers. Usually, you don’t put much stock into Summer League games for a myriad of reasons: small sample size, a mix of NBA talent and G-League players. But for second-year prospects, you want to see them rise above this level and dominate.
So far, Lewis has not.
Sure, he’s shown flashes, scoring the first four points in the Lakers’ first game of the California Classic on his way to a 14-point performance. However, for every double-digit game he plays, there are duds mixed in, like his zero-point, 0-8 shooting night against the Golden State Warriors.
On Monday, Lewis gave you a little bit of both against the Boston Celtics.
He started off productive, scoring 13 points on 4-7 shooting. He was one of the only Lakers aggressively looking for his shot and converting on his attempts as the team struggled to find its offensive rhythm.
In the second half, he went ice cold, missing all five of his attempts as the Lakers. He went from aggressive to timid and his minutes dipped while the team lost again in blowout fashion 88-74.
Was expecting a little more from Max Lewis this summer. One of the more concerning things has been how tentative he’s been with his jumper. He’s obviously an awesome athlete, but his dribble, drive, shoot decision making skews all the way toward putting the ball on the floor.
— Alex Regla (@AlexmRegla) July 16, 2024
Why is Lewis’ game so Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and how can the Lakers get more of the former and less of the latter?
“Consistency with him, on both ends of the court,” Summer League head coach Dane Johnson said after the game. “Just consistent effort knowing what’s going on offensively and defensively. He has all the tools. He’s going to have ups and downs but just having that consistency throughout his offense and defense.
“He’s still learning, as well, young player that needs more reps too, so just kind of pushing through that.”
The two aspects of that quote that concern me are the words ‘effort’ and ‘knowing.’ To be successful in basketball, or life, for that matter, you need a combination of both. Effort is easy. Knowledge takes time and patience, but if you lack it... then the execution is doomed.
Lewis has the natural tools to be a great wing and the Lakers have demonstrated they are still committed to him. He’s in the second year of a four-year contract, so there is no need to hit the panic button.
The biggest detriment he presents is a roster spot being taken and if he does develop into a rotation wing, the growing pains will be worth it.
Still, the ball doesn’t lie and, so far, there has been more evidence of him becoming that rotational 3-and-D piece being more wishful thinking than an honest assessment based on the tape we have on him.
The only thing harder than making the NBA is staying in it. Lewis has checked off the first part, but if he wants to check off the second part, there’s a lot more work still yet to be done.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
