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The Los Angeles Lakers weren\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear that the team has some holes that need to be filled before they are ready to contend for a championship. Those holes aren\u2019t likely to be filled in the draft, but the Lakers have proven they can find impact players outside of the first round.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles doesn\u2019t have their first pick until No. 55 in the second round, so they\u2019ll have to wait awhile before they can add a player. At that point, the team could look at a more experienced option.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report put together a two-round NBA mock draft and projected them to select Nevada forward Kobe Sanders.<\/p>\n
\u201cKobe Sanders was an easy standout at the Portsmouth Invitational, and now an invite to Chicago for Elite Camp seems likely,\u201d Wasserman wrote. \u201cA 6\u20199\u2033 three-level shotmaker who averaged 4.5 assists should draw attention. He won\u2019t test well athletically, (but) he possesses a shoot-create-pass skill set that suggests enticing versatility.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Lakers Have a Lot of Work to Do<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if the Lakers land Sanders in the draft, he\u2019s unlikely to have a role next season. Considering the team is filled with veteran talent, they can\u2019t afford to be patient. Next season could be LeBron James\u2018 last.<\/p>\n Many thought the Lakers already had the pieces to contend for a championship this year, but that clearly wasn\u2019t the case. General manager Rob Pelinka feels confident about one Lakers trio, but didn\u2019t have much to say about others.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of confidence in Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Luka Doncic is at an all-time high still,\u201d Pelinka said recently. \u201cSo no change in how we feel about those three guys.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Pelinka is expecting to make some big changes this offseason.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know we have a lot of work to do on the roster, and it will look different next year for sure,\u201d Pelinka said.<\/em><\/p>\n JJ Redick Evaluating Himself<\/strong><\/p>\n JJ Redick\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n That said, Redick is probably harder on himself than anybody else. He\u2019s confident he\u2019ll be better next year after some self-reflection this offseason.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll use my own thoughts to evaluate myself, and I\u2019ll use what my players say and what my coaching staff says to evaluate. But I know I can be better,\u201d Redick said after the season ended. \u201cAnd I know I will get better. I don\u2019t necessarily take any satisfaction from how the year went. That\u2019s not to say I\u2019m 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\u2019s always ways to get better. And I can get a lot better.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Los Angeles Lakers weren\u2019t supposed to be thinking about the NBA Draft this early. The team was expecting to go on a long playoff run, but… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n