Holding the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers will have a major decision to make on June 22. Currently, UCLA guard Lonzo Ball is the favorite to land with the Lakers, but the franchise will undoubtedly do their due diligence on all the top prospects.
Players such as Josh Jackson of Kansas and De’Aaron Fox of Kentucky have been mentioned the most as alternatives to Ball, but another point guard, Dennis Smith of North Carolina State, could also be in play.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the Lakers plan on working out top prospects over the next couple of weeks and Smith is one of those players:
The Lakers plan to work out other top prospects over the next two weeks, including Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox and N.C. State’s Dennis Smith.
It was rumored that the four players the Lakers were most interested in were Ball, Jackson, Fox, and Markelle Fultz. It’s looking more and more likely that Fultz will wind up in Boston as the top overall pick which would seemingly leave those three players for the Lakers to choose from. The Lakers, however, will be taking a look at all possibilities.
Smith is an incredible athlete and excellent scorer who has drawn comparisons to players like Steve Francis. While he was in a less than ideal situation at NC State, many believe he has as much, if not more potential than any other guard in the draft.
Overall, it is a good thing for the Lakers to take a long look at all of the top prospects as even if they don’t select them, there is always the possibility of a trade or players unexpectedly dropping in the draft.
If the Lakers do plan on working out all of the top-10 prospects it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them bring in Duke’s Jayson Tatum, Kentucky’s Malik Monk, Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac, and Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen.