Draft Discussion

[Danny Darko]

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[stan francisco]

Target anyone big and athletic enough to have a shot at defending Wemby and Holmgren.

[TylersLakers]

I have a hard time believing this. They should be focused on trading the pick for a veteran. We don't need any more young players unless we plan on trading some of the ones we already have:

- JHS
- Max Lewis
- Max Christie
- 2nd round pick
- 1st (if we keep the pick or trade up)

That's 5 guys on the roster who are super young. JHS still looks at least 1-2 years away from being anything. Max Lewis, same thing. The Lakers typically carry 14 players on a roster, which means we'd be down to 9 players.

- LeBron
- AD
- Reaves (young-ish)
- Vando (young-ish)
- Rui (young-ish)
- Vincent
- Wood
- DLo

If Reddish opts in, that's 9 guys and essentially our roster is set.

The only "young" players I want to see on the team next year are Reaves, Vando, Max Christie and Bronny if he becomes the second round pick.

Unless of course they want to let LeBron walk and/or trade AD. But I don't imagine they'll do that which means we should be going all out to add veteran talent.

[TimeisIllmatic]

I have a hard time believing this. They should be focused on trading the pick for a veteran. We don't need any more young players unless we plan on trading some of the ones we already have:

- JHS
- Max Lewis
- Max Christie
- 2nd round pick
- 1st (if we keep the pick or trade up)

That's 5 guys on the roster who are super young. JHS still looks at least 1-2 years away from being anything. Max Lewis, same thing. The Lakers typically carry 14 players on a roster, which means we'd be down to 9 players.

- LeBron
- AD
- Reaves (young-ish)
- Vando (young-ish)
- Rui (young-ish)
- Vincent
- Wood
- DLo

If Reddish opts in, that's 9 guys and essentially our roster is set.

The only "young" players I want to see on the team next year are Reaves, Vando, Max Christie and Bronny if he becomes the second round pick.

Unless of course they want to let LeBron walk and/or trade AD. But I don't imagine they'll do that which means we should be going all out to add veteran talent.

100% agree. I think trading the pick only makes sense if you're trying to package the pick with someone like Rui to get a veteran (preferably a 3 and D player).

While not great options, DFS and Bruce Brown might be two guys that are available. I'd love if there was a way to get Kennard on this team for his shooting even though his defense is suspect.

[Syko_boB]

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[Danny Darko]

Target anyone big and athletic enough to have a shot at defending Wemby and Holmgren.

Zach Edey 7'4" 285

[One Love]

Lakeshow will draft Zach Edey with the 17th pick...

He has been the best player in college the last two years..

[Landsberger]

Bron's kid? Get him in the Lottery and he's guaranteed a great payday....

[Slava]

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Have I not watched ball in a long time or am I missing what’s so dynamic about that workout? I’ve seen randos do that at my rec gym hundreds of times.

[Jody Smokz]

Trading into the top 5 of a weak draft and trying to contend for a championship are contradictory paths.

[stan francisco]

Trading into the top 5 of a weak draft and trying to contend for a championship are contradictory paths.

We’ll need a big freak athlete at C to get out of the west. Even if Wemby is another year out Holmgren is a beast who we need a lengthy answer for already next season or we’re not getting out of the west.

What veteran C are you guys suggesting who is available and athletic enough to go up against them two young 7’ plus unicorns, and Jokic?

Nurkic ain’t exactly it.

[zuju]

Trading into the top 5 of a weak draft and trying to contend for a championship are contradictory paths.

We’ll need a big freak athlete at C to get out of the west. Even if Wemby is another year out Holmgren is a beast who we need a lengthy answer for already next season or we’re not getting out of the west.

What veteran C are you guys suggesting who is available and athletic enough to go up against them two young 7’ plus unicorns, and Jokic?

Nurkic ain’t exactly it.

Ware (7') or Missi (6'11") - super athletic
Edey (7'4") - matched size of holmgren orbWemby

[Jody Smokz]

What Big freak athlete at C is available and good enough to play meaningful minutes on a contender that is in THIS years draft?

What Big freak athlete at C is available for trade with the trade pieces the Lakers have?

Let's not just throw out generalizations as if players just fall out of thin air.

Trading into the top 5 of a weak draft and trying to contend for a championship are contradictory paths.

We’ll need a big freak athlete at C to get out of the west. Even if Wemby is another year out Holmgren is a beast who we need a lengthy answer for already next season or we’re not getting out of the west.

What veteran C are you guys suggesting who is available and athletic enough to go up against them two young 7’ plus unicorns, and Jokic?

Nurkic ain’t exactly it.

[danfantastk32]

What Big freak athlete at C is available and good enough to play meaningful minutes on a contender that is in THIS years draft?

What Big freak athlete at C is available for trade with the trade pieces the Lakers have?

Let's not just throw out generalizations as if players just fall out of thin air.

100%

Let's just pretend for a second that there is some 7-foot guy who's really good, and we're actually able to trade up to the #5, or something, and we got him......how good is this guy gonna be his rookie year? 2nd Year? Remember this amazing 7-footer is gonna be a 1 and done. How old and crippled are Lebron and AD before this guy starts to really pay off?

And how many picks are we giving up to get down low enough to get said amazing 7-footer? Also....we'd better hope this kid can shoot from outside, cause AD is pretty bad. Or is our plan to go old-school here, and "D it up" in a league completely regulated, and reffed to give all advantages to the offense? Cause that's a mighty dumb game plan, imo.

A 42-year old Lebron (earning 60+mil) and a 33 (and most likely broken) AD along side our now 3rd year center. Gosh...lickin' my chops for that super team. We still have DLo right? He solves all our shooting woes after all.......smh

[Jody Smokz]

Myles Turner is probably the best C archtype that you can pair with AD but the Pacers aren't trading for him for some combo of Rui/Gabe and some mid picks that won't come into for a few years down the line. They also just made it to the ECF.

Jonas is going to cost more than the tax MLE that the Lakers will likely have access to. C Wood picking up his options gives them atleast a bench big. Maybe we'll see a better outing from him this season under a new coach....maybe

[SlimShady83]

Myles Turner is probably the best C archtype that you can pair with AD but the Pacers aren't trading for him for some combo of Rui/Gabe and some mid picks that won't come into for a few years down the line. They also just made it to the ECF.

I like both Turner and Capela, but unless a trade of some sort like 17/Rui etc going to be tough get either, Are Lakers looking to trade 17 pic?

[stan francisco]

What Big freak athlete at C is available and good enough to play meaningful minutes on a contender that is in THIS years draft?

What Big freak athlete at C is available for trade with the trade pieces the Lakers have?

Let's not just throw out generalizations as if players just fall out of thin air.

Trading into the top 5 of a weak draft and trying to contend for a championship are contradictory paths.

We’ll need a big freak athlete at C to get out of the west. Even if Wemby is another year out Holmgren is a beast who we need a lengthy answer for already next season or we’re not getting out of the west.

What veteran C are you guys suggesting who is available and athletic enough to go up against them two young 7’ plus unicorns, and Jokic?

Nurkic ain’t exactly it.

Exactly. I haven’t even watched him play yet, but a 7’4” Edey is a rare opportunity which might be worth trading up for. You can’t teach 7’4”. Good luck to Turner guarding Wemby in two years.

I know it’s a long term move but it might not be. Look at Lively; starting center in the NBA Finals. Jaime Jacquez contributed in his first season on an elite team.

[danfantastk32]

Exactly. I haven’t even watched him play yet, but a 7’4” Edey is a rare opportunity which might be worth trading up for. You can’t teach 7’4”. Good luck to Turner guarding Wemby in two years.

Sporting news report on Edey:

"Edey's biggest strength is also his most glaring weakness. He's so big that it is almost impossible to be as mobile as he would need to be to excel at the next level. Edey is still a rock-solid defensive anchor, shot blocker and reliable rebounder, but a lot of his defensive limitations remain the same.

Even though his footwork and lateral movement look quicker, Edey will still be a frequent pick-and-roll target at the next level. With NBA spacing, Edey could get played off the floor trying to keep up with some of the faster, more athletic guards and forwards. He could live in drop coverage, but that would put a lot of pressure on the rest of his teammates to fight over ball screens and get out on shooters.

On offense, Edey is more coordinated and confident with his left hand, but it is still a weakness. It won't be as easy to bully every defender in the post and get to his right hand whenever he wants. Smarter defenders will know he wants to turn over his left shoulder for a righty hook or push shot, and they'll be strong and athletic enough to cut that off. On top of that, Edey still does almost all of his damage around the basket. He is not a threat to stretch the floor or face up and shoot."

In his 2023 draft report, it mentions that he literally took ONE shot from outside the paint. Zero threes. This guy sounds like he's in the wrong decade. I suppose if he's available at #17 or whatever, maybe we take a shot on him. But giving up pick(s) to get down into the top 10, and grabbing him would be foolish. I also think he and AD will overlap, and both will have the same weaknesses. It will be a disaster. If you were looking to move AD though......

[Danny Darko]

Exactly. I haven’t even watched him play yet, but a 7’4” Edey is a rare opportunity which might be worth trading up for. You can’t teach 7’4”. Good luck to Turner guarding Wemby in two years.

Sporting news report on Edey:

"Edey's biggest strength is also his most glaring weakness. He's so big that it is almost impossible to be as mobile as he would need to be to excel at the next level. Edey is still a rock-solid defensive anchor, shot blocker and reliable rebounder, but a lot of his defensive limitations remain the same.

Even though his footwork and lateral movement look quicker, Edey will still be a frequent pick-and-roll target at the next level. With NBA spacing, Edey could get played off the floor trying to keep up with some of the faster, more athletic guards and forwards. He could live in drop coverage, but that would put a lot of pressure on the rest of his teammates to fight over ball screens and get out on shooters.

On offense, Edey is more coordinated and confident with his left hand, but it is still a weakness. It won't be as easy to bully every defender in the post and get to his right hand whenever he wants. Smarter defenders will know he wants to turn over his left shoulder for a righty hook or push shot, and they'll be strong and athletic enough to cut that off. On top of that, Edey still does almost all of his damage around the basket. He is not a threat to stretch the floor or face up and shoot."

In his 2023 draft report, it mentions that he literally took ONE shot from outside the paint. Zero threes. This guy sounds like he's in the wrong decade. I suppose if he's available at #17 or whatever, maybe we take a shot on him. But giving up pick(s) to get down into the top 10, and grabbing him would be foolish. I also think he and AD will overlap, and both will have the same weaknesses. It will be a disaster. If you were looking to move AD though......

He should be there if we sit tight and I think he's a fair value there. He needs some polish but to say a kid at 7'4" 285 isn't strong enough to bang is stupid. Maybe in year 2 but worth the investment unless bpa is that much better and also suits a need.

[danfantastk32]

He should be there if we sit tight and I think he's a fair value there. He needs some polish but to say a kid at 7'4" 285 isn't strong enough to bang is stupid. Maybe in year 2 but worth the investment unless bpa is that much better and also suits a need.

Well, nobody said he couldn't bang...I don't know where you got that. The scouting report says he's bad with his left, and basically relies on bullying his way to his right...something he's gonna find alot more difficult to do against NBA defenders.

One thing I do find intriguing, is that he started playing B-Ball in highschool. So he's actually fairly new to the game. 4 years at Purdue obviously goes a long way....but I do think there is room for alot of growth.

That being said, he took 2 3-pointers in his 4-year stint. And as I mentioned, he only took 1 shot outside the paint in the 22-23 season. You gotta know he's aware, and so are his coaches, that if he developed some outside shots.....he'd be a clear #1. But knowing that, and seeing that he didn't even attempt.....yeah, he worked on it, and it didn't go well.

I dunno man......I think the guy would be a really interesting gamble if we were rebuilding. But being in win-now mode, and already having a guy with much of the same skill sets just seems a total waste.