Former Michigan State Spartans star Max Christie probably should have stayed in school an extra year. We get it. The kid is very raw, but the tools are obviously there.

And he deserves more from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now in his third NBA season, Christie is just 21 years old, so there is ample time for the youngster to grow into his frame and develop a reliable all-around game.

However, Christie won’t be able to get there if the Lakers don’t give him playing time.

Heading into Wednesday night’s action, Christie had played in all 10 games for Los Angeles, but he was averaging just 13.1 minutes per game. Not only that, but his minutes have been sporadic.

Christie was given double-digit minutes over his first six contests, topping out at 27 minutes in his fifth game. But since then, he has only achieved double figures twice. As a matter of fact, in the Lakers’ previous two games before Wednesday, he had played a total of three minutes.

That doesn’t seem right, especially considering that he just landed a four-year contract extension over the summer.

It’s understandable that Los Angeles is trying to make the playoffs in what could be LeBron James’ final season, but the Lakers aren’t even giving Christie a legitimate chance.

Los Angeles’ bench isn’t exactly deep. It is giving significant minutes to Cam Reddish and Gabe Vincent, for crying out loud. You’re saying JJ Redick can’t find a way to get Christie more involved?

Christie has the potential to be a terrific two-way player on the NBA level. Heck, if he had spent another year at Michigan State, he may have been a lottery pick, and a high one, at that.

Instead, the Lakers took the 6-foot-6 wing in the second round of the 2022 draft, which absolutely looked like a steal at the time.

But it’s not going to be much of a steal if Los Angeles doesn’t play him.

The Lakers are starving for defensive help, and Christie could be the answer on the perimeter. If they actually give him a consistent opportunity, it may pay dividends.

And if they’re not going to play him? Just trade him and give him a chance to shine elsewhere.

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Lansing — A portion of a Michigan Senate bill that would significantly limit the places where individuals with concealed pistol licenses can carry their weapons won’t advance in the state Legislature, a spokeswoman for Senate Democrats said Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Michigan Senate’s Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee is scheduled to consider a two-bill package that would alter state law to generally prohibit guns at the Michigan State Capitol, the Anderson House Office Building and the Binsfeld Senate Office Building in Lansing.

One of the bills also featured a proposed change in law that would have barred those licensed to carry concealed weapons from having their firearms inside churches, sports arenas, hospitals and businesses licensed through the state’s liquor control code.

The organization Great Lakes Gun Rights posted on social media that the proposal, as originally written, would have made it illegal for concealed pistol license holders to carry in “thousands of places where they can carry under current law.”

“This isn’t about gun safety,” Great Lakes Gun Rights wrote on the website X. “This isn’t about going after criminals. This is about making self-defense virtually illegal in Michigan.”

But Rosie Jones, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said the intent of the bills was to simply focus on the Capitol and House and Senate office buildings in downtown Lansing.

“There will be changes made to the bill to make that clear,” Jones said in a statement.

In 2023, the Michigan Capitol Commission voted to generally ban weapons inside the state Capitol. And the entrance to the building now features a weapon detection system manned by Michigan State Police troopers.

Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, has previously called for putting the commission’s policy into state law, noting that thousands of students visit the Capitol for field trips each year.

“We’re not doing this again,” Polehanki wrote on social media in April, referring to a picture of armed protesters in the gallery of the Senate in 2020.

Polehanki sponsored one of the two bills that will go before the Senate committee on Thursday. Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-West Bloomfield, sponsored the other, which featured the broader change on where those with concealed pistol licenses could carry weapons.

On Wednesday, Polehanki said there was a drafting error in Bayer’s bill that is being fixed.

However, Tom Lambert, legislative director for the organization Michigan Open Carry, said he believes the language that Senate Democrats say they’ll change was intentional.

“This should have jumped out at them immediately,” Lambert said.

The bills were first introduced in May.

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, said the bills were a “last ditch effort by lame duck Democrats to essentially ban concealed carry across the state.”

“It’s despicable, and Senate Republicans will fight it every step of the way,” Nesbitt said.

In the Nov. 5 election, Republicans won control of the state House, giving Michigan Democrats until the end of the year to use their majorities to pass measures the GOP might oppose.

The Anderson House Office Building currently has a screening system in its lobby and an internal policy that bans employees of the House from being able to carry firearms on House property. The Binsfeld Senate Office Building currently has no similar screening system in its lobby.

Under the bills, a lawmaker with a concealed pistol license would still be able to carry a weapon in the buildings.

cmauger@detroitnews.com