Lakers must not repeat the mistake of Scotty Pippen Jr. with Jordan Goodwin

No matter what other skeptics have to say about Rob Pelinka, it is not to deny that he has made a habit to expand diamonds in the rough. During his tenure in the front office, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to find high -quality players in unlikely places.

The latest in the long series of unsung heroes is Jordan Goodwin – a player with whom Pelinka and the Lakers cannot afford to repeat the mistake they made with Scotty Pippen Jr.

Los Angeles has done a phenomenal work to use his scouting department for her advantage. It was gold with uncovered players such as Alex Caruso, Pippen and Austin Reaves as well as the former start shooting and the selection of the second round Max Christie.

Goodwin already has NBA experience in the belt, but it seems to be the latest name that has been added to the list of unlikely impact players by Los Angeles.

Goodwin gave in his NBA debut in 2021-22 and has played 129 games with four franchise companies since then. This includes the eight games that he played in 2024-25 for the Lakers, in which he looked the part of a perfect fit.

If the Lakers want to make the best of an injury-plagued season, they have to learn to lose pippings and to sign Goodwin to a standard NBA contract.

Lakers have to sign Jordan Goodwin before the story is repeated

Pippens played for the South Bay Lakers for the unknowns and showed clear signs of promises at both ends of the soil. Unfortunately, Los Angeles could not sign him in his NBA squad and thus allowed the Memphis Grizzlies to steal an emerging talent on a high level.

Pippen has emerged as an important contribution to Memphis’ deep rotation with an average of 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.9 three-point goals in only 19.9 minutes per game.

This rounded production would have proven to be essentially what the Lakers 2024-25 wanted to build. Instead, Los Angeles searched for ideal options at the Backup Guard spots to reconcile quality defense with consistent offensive production.

Goodwin, who is only 26 years old, is a rare second chance of learning from previous mistakes.

In eight appearances, Goodwin achieved an average of 6.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.3 steals and 0.6 three-point fields in 16.9 minutes per game. These numbers lead to 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.2 three-point fishing destinations per 36 minutes.

In addition to the numbers, Goodwin was an infectious source of energy at the defensive end of the soil and a rare source of the bank from the bank.

Perhaps Goodwin does not publish star-caliber numbers, but he is in the game to play a role and he has been thriving in it so far. Los Angeles exceeds the opponents of 4.5 points per 100 possessions when he is on the pitch and only allows 106.4.

Fortunately, Laker’s head coach JJ Redick announced that Goodwin will be a member of the rotation that will be in the future. It is up to Pelinka to ensure a long -term future.