In life, many desired things never happen. We would have loved Dwayne Bacon to leave Monaco for Denver, just to title “from the Rock to the Rockies”: this fantasy will remain unfulfilled. The 27-year-old fullback signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, relaunching his NBA career after a successful year in Europe. Debrief.
Landing in Monaco between two NBA seasons, producing Euroleague stats, never having had to go to This site, receive a phone call from Rob Pelinka, fly to Los Angeles to sign with the Lakers. In the big house of unfolding plans “without a hitch”, that of Dwayne Bacon pionce in the bed of the daron. Leaving the Magic in the summer of 2021, leaving behind him season averages of 10.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists, the 27-year-old fullback thought he would find the first “trampoline mattress” in Monaco. He was not mistaken. This season, in 29 Euroleague games – course stopped at the gates of the Final Four – Dwayne Bacon has made a very clean copy: 13.9 points at 45% shooting including 42% from 3-pointers, 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 assist, 1 interception and only 1.2 lost ball. It’s the first time since his 2018-19 season with the Hornets that he’s shot more than 40% from long range. This Sunday, we heard Giannis Antetokounmpo explain that EuroBasket and other FIBA competitions help him become better in the NBA. That with the reduction of spaces, zone defenses and double-teams, it was necessary to think, make a decision and execute more quickly, under the pressure of a densified defense. It will be interesting to observe the behavior of Dwayne Bacon, a rather solo scoring player when he left the NBA, to see – or not – his progress in the five-a-side game.
OFFICIAL: The Lakers have signed guard Dwayne Bacon and forward Matt Ryan pic.twitter.com/3qx4edTvLr
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 27, 2022
The terms of the contract between Dwayne Bacon and the Lakers have not yet been communicated, but the franchise already has… 14 players in its 2022-23 roster. There is therefore only one spot left for several candidates. On paper, none have the CV of the 40th pick of the 2017 Draft : Matt Ryan, Jay Huff, Cole Swider, Scottie Pippen Jr, Javante McCoy… A string of random blazes who will struggle to compete with a major Euroleague player, already in the juice of what is best in the NBA. We are therefore heading, in our opinion, towards a 15th spot reserved for the ardor of Dwayne Bacon coming off the bench, just to bring a little cleanliness (and ends of possession in iso) to a workforce of which we know nothing . These 2022-23 Lakers are difficult to gauge, with many uncertain bets in the people of Thomas Bryant, Dennis Schroder, Wenyen Gabriel, Kendrick Nunn, Juan Toscano-Anderson or even… Dwayne Bacon. Who will live will see, but if it is to slam the same collective balance sheet as last season: forced repatriation of Bacon on the Rock.
Great man that Dwayne Bacon. It’s never easy to jump between the NBA and the Euroleague before so much success, but the fullback has proven himself to be a real basketball player, able to cook any defender in iso, while retaining very good shooting percentages. Good luck.