The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t supposed to be thinking about the NBA Draft this early. The team was expecting to go on a long playoff run, but lost in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Round 1.
It’s clear that the team has some holes that need to be filled before they are ready to contend for a championship. Those holes aren’t likely to be filled in the draft, but the Lakers have proven they can find impact players outside of the first round.
Los Angeles doesn’t have their first pick until No. 55 in the second round, so they’ll have to wait awhile before they can add a player. At that point, the team could look at a more experienced option.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report put together a two-round NBA mock draft and projected them to select Nevada forward Kobe Sanders.
“Kobe Sanders was an easy standout at the Portsmouth Invitational, and now an invite to Chicago for Elite Camp seems likely,” Wasserman wrote. “A 6’9″ three-level shotmaker who averaged 4.5 assists should draw attention. He won’t test well athletically, (but) he possesses a shoot-create-pass skill set that suggests enticing versatility.”
Lakers Have a Lot of Work to Do
Even if the Lakers land Sanders in the draft, he’s unlikely to have a role next season. Considering the team is filled with veteran talent, they can’t afford to be patient. Next season could be LeBron James‘ last.
Many thought the Lakers already had the pieces to contend for a championship this year, but that clearly wasn’t the case. General manager Rob Pelinka feels confident about one Lakers trio, but didn’t have much to say about others.
“The level of confidence in Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Luka Doncic is at an all-time high still,” Pelinka said recently. “So no change in how we feel about those three guys.”
Pelinka is expecting to make some big changes this offseason.
“We know we have a lot of work to do on the roster, and it will look different next year for sure,” Pelinka said.
JJ Redick Evaluating Himself
JJ Redick’s first season as Lakers head coach was filled with more ups than downs, but the playoffs were concerning. He seemed outmatched by the much more experienced Chris Finch.
That said, Redick is probably harder on himself than anybody else. He’s confident he’ll be better next year after some self-reflection this offseason.
“I’ll use my own thoughts to evaluate myself, and I’ll use what my players say and what my coaching staff says to evaluate. But I know I can be better,” Redick said after the season ended. “And I know I will get better. I don’t necessarily take any satisfaction from how the year went. That’s not to say I’m not proud of what the group was able to do, and how we were able to figure out things on the fly and put ourselves in a position to have home court in the first round. But there’s always ways to get better. And I can get a lot better.”
