Rob Pelinka did a nice job of remodeling the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster at the trade deadline last season, improving the team from the 13th seed in the West to the seventh seed that made a run all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
Unfortunately though, the Lakers still fell short of their ultimate goal of winning a championship after being swept by the Denver Nuggets.
Now that the offseason is here, Pelinka is faced with another tough task of again remodeling and improving the Lakers’ roster to get them back to championship level around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers have a lot of decisions to make once free agency rolls around, whether that be keeping some of their own guys or looking elsewhere for upgrades. L.A. also holds the No. 17 and 40 picks in Thursday night’s NBA Draft, which gives them the ability to add young talent to the organization or flip them for proven veterans.
It appears they have decided on the former as the Lakers are selected Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino after staying put at No. 17 in the draft:
Welcome to the Purple & Gold, Jalen Hood-Schifino! pic.twitter.com/DdMu3PKML9
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 23, 2023
Jalen Hood-Schifino is a 6’6″ guard that played one season at Indiana, averaging 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 33.1 minutes per game while shooting 41.7% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-Big Ten in his lone season with the Hoosiers.
Pelinka is known to value Big Ten players as a Michigan grad himself, and now he adds another one to the program in Hood-Schifino. While the 3-point shooting needs some work, Hood-Schifino is a floor general at point guard known for his strength and toughness on the defensive end.
It remains to be seen how quickly he will be able to get rotation minutes for the Lakers, but Darvin Ham will have yet another backcourt option to work with and develop.
Lakers trade up from 47 to 40 in second round
Before the draft even started, the Lakers wasted no time making a move as they traded the No. 47 pick in the second round along with cash to the Indiana Pacers for the No. 40 pick.
It remains to be seen who the Lakers will take, but they will surely have better options available at 40 and L.A. has typically done really well in the second round.
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