The Los Angeles Lakers selected Baylor guard Cameron Carr with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. The guard offers a ton of potential as a 3-and-D player, listed at 6’5 with a 7’0 wingspan. He also tested extremely well at the NBA Draft Combine, posting the second-fastest lane agility score, second best standing vertical leap and the third best max vertical leap and that can be seen very clearly in this highlight video.
Carr played sparingly in the first two years of his college career at the University of Tennessee, but broke out in a huge way after transferring to Baylor for his junior season. He averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 49.4% from the field and 37.4% from 3-point range on 6.1 attempts.
The guard did a bit of everything for the Bears last season, leading them in scoring and posting just two games out of 34 with single-digit points. He also had 16 games with at least three assists and 16 games with multiple blocks, flashing his potential to make an impact on both ends of the court.
The Lakers lacked some athleticism on the perimeter last season and Carr can help in that regard while also giving them a potential knockdown shooter. He thrived as both a standstill and movement shooter in college and playing alongside Luka Doncic, as well as potentially Austin Reaves and LeBron James, should give him far more open looks than he ever received in college. Carr along with last year’s draft pick Adou Thiero give the Lakers a pair of extremely athletic wings who can keep up with the speed of today’s game.
Coming into the draft, the Lakers had the 25th overall pick, but would send cash considerations to the New York Knicks in order to move up one spot and take Carr who was projected by some outlets to go in the mid-to-late teens. The job will now be on the Lakers’ staff to develop the skills that Carr has and hopefully turn him into a rotation player that this team needs. But the highlights from his time at Baylor is surely enough to get many excited.
Lakers hard capped after draft day trade for Cameron Carr
The Lakers trading cash considerations to the Knicks to move up one spot to take Cameron Carr actually comes with some salary cap restrictions. The Lakers will now be hard capped at the second apron, which is projected to be at $222 million, but they are highly unlikely to exceed even the first apron so it shouldn’t matter in the end.
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