The Los Angeles Lakers announced that they held a pre-draft workout on Tuesday for Baylor’s MaCio Teague, Toledo’s Spencer Littleson, Georgia Tech’s Jose Alvarado, Kentucky’s Brandon Boston Jr. and Georgia Tech’s Moses Wright.
With the 2021 NBA Draft just around the corner on Thursday night, it appears the Lakers are doing some last-minute evaluations before finalizing who they want to take with the No. 22 pick.
Of this group, Boston is the only player that the Lakers could potentially take at 22. The 6’7″ guard was a five-star recruit and potential lottery pick coming out of Sierra Canyon although had a very underwhelming season at Kentucky, which lowered his draft stock.
Boston averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 30% from 3-point range in 25 games for the Wild Cats. He is projected to go late in the first round so could potentially be in the mix for the Lakers at 22.
Lakers discussing moving down
Even though the Lakers only have one pick though, it makes sense that they’ve worked out a number of players projected to go in the second round. Not only will the Lakers have a Summer League roster to fill out, but they could also move into the second round by buying or trading for a pick.
It was also recently reported that they have discussed moving down from 22 in order to acquire more picks, which could be a solid course of action considering the gems the Lakers’ front office and scouting department have been able to find late in the draft in recent years.
As far as this workout goes, Teague, Littleson, Alvarado and Wright are all projected to be either late second-round picks or undrafted.
Teague is perhaps the most interesting of the bunch as the point guard is coming off a season in which he averaged 15.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 39.5% from deep to help Baylor win the National Championship.
As a four-year college player, Teague could potentially come in and contribute right away for the Lakers, which is big for a team that is in win-now mode.
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