The Lakers Are Going To Be An Even More Dangerous Team This Coming Season

That's almost absurd to say, but then, Steve Blake is an absurd player:

EL SEGUNDO – Here he is …

The rarely spotted white American NBA point guard … wearing a normal man’s size 13 shoe and weighing in at 172 pounds, lighter than Nate Robinson and a ridiculous 38 pounds fewer than Derek Fisher …

A product of the same 2003 draft that saw LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in the top five … and this guy going at No. 38, right after Mario Austin and Travis Hansen and just before Slavko Vranes and Derrick Zimmerman …

The Lakers’ key offseason acquisition whose toddler sons Jamison and Nicholas wanted his introductory news conference to end because they had been promised McDonald’s for lunch …

Steve Blake!

He’s not the sort to take offense at the kidding above or hackneyed Slim Shady references, and he’s not here to wow you.

He’s just here to win. And know that along the way, he’s also going to teach some lessons about looks being deceiving and stereotypes being dangerous.

Blake has always been serious about his game – to the point that he was the subject of some serious controversy in high school about illegally attending basketball power (and state champion with him) Miami High, then moving on to hoops factory Oak Hill Academy in Virginia the way guys like Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Jackson and Brandon Jennings did.

Blake is a far better athlete than is generally understood, with Mitch Kupchak revealing that in Blake’s Lakers pre-draft workout he “tested out as one of the best players we’ve ever had as far as physical ability.” That was seven years ago, and even though Blake still looks like a dude working behind a Subway counter, he actually does mixed martial arts that showcase his uncommon core strength.

Blake’s competitive fire would fit well in the Octagon, too. He can be found on YouTube going face-to-chest to 7-footers Andrew Bogut and Dwight Howard in just the past six months, standing up for himself. The over-under on confrontations between Blake and Sasha Vujacic in practice next season? I’ll say 12 … unless Vujacic and his expiring contract get traded before they get there, though the odds of that salary dump decreased when free agent Raja Bell chose Utah over the Lakers.

Blake did describe himself Wednesday in his first Lakers news conference as “scrappy,” which is pretty much a bio requirement for second basemen with light hair. But the subtext in the word “scrappy” is usually “limited,” and that’s not truly Blake.

He showed that in his triple-double against the Lakers while with the Clippers in the April 14 regular-season finale.

“After the game was over, I was very happy that I did that against the Lakers,” Blake said, fully aware that jumping into the triangle was a logical fit for him this offseason.

About making it to the Lakers now, Blake said: “There’s no better place for me to be.”

Kupchak, while specifically praising Blake’s defense, mentioned the Lakers conceivably keeping the triangle even if Phil Jackson does not return after next season. But it goes beyond that. To play alongside Kobe Bryant, the point guard needs to be versatile enough to do more than move the ball around the court.

Bryant shuffles his deck all game long to be quarterback, running back and wide receiver, which means the point guard with him needs to be able to play all those positions at any time. For example, not too many point guards in this league are great catch-and-shoot guys, but Fisher and Blake are. Fisher and Blake are also two of the few players who could rank among league leaders in both assist-to-turnover ratio and 3-point percentage.

Blake is aware of the similarities, and he embraces that to the point that he has invoked Fisher’s name in the past to people skeptical of Blake.

“I’ve always looked up to him,” Blake said. “He’s a winner.”

Frankly, Blake might not even be here if not for Fisher’s success. The Lakers would’ve looked for someone more exciting … or might’ve even let Jordan Farmar (who is half-white, it should be noted) run more of the show.

Instead, Farmar has been cast off and winds up in a new jersey, literally, with No. 2 for the Nets. (No, it’s not a tribute to Fisher; it’s symbolic of the second phase in Farmar’s career. Yes, it’s predictable for Farmar to view himself more as Bryant, who switched midstream to No. 24.)

And here’s Blake, who was drafted by Washington not because he kicked Kirk Hinrich’s rear in a head-to-head pre-draft workout as much as because the Wizards were installing the read-and-react Princeton offense under Eddie Jordan back then.

Blake is very much the perfect triangle player. He can shoot 3-pointers very well and is savvy enough not just to practice jumpers randomly the way Ron Artest does – but rather from the spots in the offense where he knows his shots usually come.

Mike Penberthy and Coby Karl, the last white American guards employed by the Lakers, did that, too. Rest assured, Blake can do more.