Collin Sexton Compares Sandro Mamukelashvili To Kevin Love

Sandro Mamukelashvili was one of the standouts for the Los Angeles Lakers this preseason as he flashed the versatility that was touted when the team signed him to a lucrative contract in free agency.

Mamukelashvili can do a little bit of everything on the court, whether it be shooting, dribbling, passing or rebounding. One person who has gotten an up close look at that is Collin Sexton, who missed all of preseason with a lower leg injury. When he was watching Mamukelashvili though, it reminded him of one of his former teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers in Kevin Love.

“I think he’s one of those [players] who can do a lot. He reminds me of like [Kevin Love] the way he can shoot the ball,” Sexton said of Mamukelashvili. “He can fill it up. He can shoot it really well, pick-and-pop, he can post up, he can pass. He reminds me a lot of K-Love when I played with him as well. It’s cool to be with someone that can pick-and-pop, but also, if he needs to go down in the paint, he can.”

While it’s not a perfect comparison, Mamukelashvili does share some similar qualities with Love as big men who can shoot. The Lakers will be depending on that this season as Mamukelashvili and Sexton will likely be leading their second unit, hoping to improve what was one of the worst benches in the NBA last season.

JJ Redick wants Sandro Mamukelashvili to push pace

Love was known to be one of the best outlet passers in NBA history after grabbing defensive rebounds. While Mamukelashvili may not be on that level, he is an exceptional player in transition and JJ Redick wants him to push the pace himself after getting rebounds.

“Yeah, I think he’s just a really quick decision maker,” Redick said after the Lakers’ preseason finale against the Denver Nuggets. “We’ve been able to have good spacing and he’s just a really good connector. And particularly, we’re really encouraging him on defensive rebounds to just initiate the transitional offense because he can get our pace going and make great decisions.

“But most teams throughout this preseason have cross-matched in some way, so it’s not like he’s just getting guarded by the five and picking and pocketing to that. We’re doing a nice job of recognizing mismatches and his ability to sort of play next action has been really good.”