The Los Angeles Lakers have been hard at work the last couple of days with their draft workouts. On Thursday, they hosted the presumed second overall pick in Brandon Ingram and on Friday they hosted a pair of likely lottery picks in Cal’s Jaylen Brown and Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere.
Brown was very complimentary of the franchise he grew up a fan of, naming Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the greatest Lakers of all-time. Labissiere’s biggest compliments went towards the most recent Lakers legend.
After his workout with the Lakers, Labissiere called Kobe Bryant one of the most skilled players ever via the Lakers official Twitter account:
Labissiere on his favorite player, Kobe Bryant: “I think he’s one of the most skilled players ever, if not the most skilled player ever.”
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 10, 2016
Kobe’s influence on Labissiere is evident as even though he is nearly seven-feet tall, he has a mostly perimeter-based game. He has drawn comparisons to the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge because of his excellent outside shot, but he lacks the strength to play on the block right now.
Coming into the college season it was Labissiere, not Ingram, who was considered the other top prospect along with Ben Simmons, but an underwhelming year knocked Labissiere down. Despite that, his skill level still stands out, though the Lakers likely aren’t considering him with their second overall pick.
As is the case with Brown or Buddy Hield, whom the Lakers will reportedly work out next week, this is a case of the Lakers doing their homework on all potential top prospects before the draft. If the team were to trade down, as unlikely as that is, they could find themselves in a position to draft one of these other players. If they stay at number two, however, Ingram will almost definitely be the guy.
