What should Lakers fans expect from Christian Koloko?

Christian Koloko is a bit of an unknown quantity, so we asked someone who covered him with the Raptors for their thoughts on what he’ll bring to the Lakers.

With Christian Wood out for eight weeks due to arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, the Lakers are short a big.

To try to fill that gap, they went from one Christian to another, signing Christian Koloko to a two-way contract. Los Angeles had to waive Blake Hinson to make room, but they now have some added depth in the frontcourt while Wood recovers.

Koloko isn’t a well-known player, particularly after playing just one season with the Raptors and a piece of that in the G League. To better understand who he is as a player and what the team should expect, we talked with JD Quirante, an editor at Raptors HQ and reporter on the Raptors and their G League affiliate.

Below is our Q and A.

What should Lakers fans expect to see from Christian Koloko?

Christian Koloko is a fun “project big” that can provide rim protection, solid screens, and an active vertical threat. Koloko’s combination of size, length, agility, athleticism, and, perhaps, untapped potential offensively and defensively will ensure that he will show a flash of his potential here and there whenever he sees the floor.

As mentioned earlier, he’s a “project” at this point, but if the Lakers are in a pinch, Koloko should be able to give them 5-10 solid minutes of paint protection.

What are his strengths and weaknesses at this stage of his career?

At this point of his career, Koloko’s NBA-ready skill set is his rim protection. You can’t teach height, but he’s got great coordination to alter, if not block, shots around the rim.

Aside from that, the main reason a team would be — and should be — interested in Koloko is his potential. Pre-illness, he looked like he could develop into a decent modern-day big. That said, he’s not a non-shooter at this point in his career, but on a Lakers roster with lofty expectations, we might as well treat him as one this season.

Koloko had already turned 22 years old when the Raptors drafted him, and despite being one of the older rookies, his game looked very raw during his stint with the Raptors.

It’s unfair to ask him to be “raw but effective” like how Derek Lively II did in his rookie year, as aside from his “Swat-ability,” he doesn’t present the same “will player” type as Lively II.

I’m not sure if it’s about the processing speed, effort, or lack of fundamentals, but he’s often beaten in 50/50 plays; that’s why his rebounding rate, especially OREB, is subpar.

Offensively, Koloko’s no more than a vertical threat, and based on what I mentioned above, I’m not counting on him to pick up a lot of garbage points for my team.

He wasn’t good at finishing around the basket if it didn’t end up with a dunk, and his passing leaves a lot to be desired. However, he would occasionally show flashes of good offensive moves and passing, but not often enough for them to happen and be considered as a threat.

Were you surprised he was cut? I know he had the health issue, but Masai Ujiri also had a lot of praise for him when he was cut. Did Raptors fans want to keep him around?

The Raptors fanbase tends to overvalue our players way more than their actual value should be, so the overall sentiment was disappointment when he was released.

The Raptors FO’s inability to find a decent big cost them the “compete window” of their “Run it back core,” so it’s safe to say that they saw Koloko as part of this team’s future, and to Koloko’s credit, he’s shown flashes that got the fanbase optimistic.

So yeah, just like everybody else, it’s a surprise to see him get cut, but once the news of his blood clot came out, it felt reasonable at the time.

Is there anything else you think people should know about him, on or off the court?

I believe the Lakers have no picks in the next draft, and while I suggest we temper our expectations on Koloko (I have minimal; I just wanted to see him on the court for now), his “Year 2” can potentially yield a late-1st NBA draft pick type of return. I covered the Raptors 905, and the Jakob Poeltl trade relegated him to G League minutes.

There, Koloko had the chance to realize what he could and couldn’t do at that point in his career. While his stint with the Raptors 905 was up and down, he showed signs of upward development throughout his time there.

I was expecting a reasonable jump in what should have been his “Year 2,” but the illness derailed his development trajectory. However, even when Koloko was inactive, he was usually around the farm team. He could’ve easily just stood pat and recovered privately, but I believe this shows how much he wants to be back, and if he’s put in the work, “Year 2” might come sooner rather than later.

A big thanks to Quirante for his insight. For more of his Raptors thoughts, you can follow him on Twitter at @jdkeyrants.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.