With less than a week until the 2023 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted another group of prospects for a workout on Saturday afternoon, which included UConn’s Andre Jackson Jr., Stetson’s Sam Peek, Chattanooga’s Jake Stephens, Overtime Elite’s Jazian Gortman, Texas’ Timmy Allen and Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis.
The most notable name of the bunch is Jackson, who just helped lead Connecticut to a National Championship this past season. He is known for his defense on the perimeter and wing as he has great athleticism to go along with length at 6’6″.
Jackson’s offensive game can use some work though as he’s coming off a junior season where he averaged just 6.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 43.2% from the field and 28.1% from 3-point range.
In addition to the No. 17 overall pick, the Lakers also have the No. 47 overall pick in the second-round, which is where Jackson and most of the prospects they have been working out are projected to land.
Peek also has solid size for a wing at 6’7″, although he only averaged 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds while struggling from deep at 30.2% in his lone season at Stetson.
Stephens is a more traditional center at 6’10”, although he can also stretch the floor as he shot 38.5% from deep in five college seasons and 40.8% on 5.2 attempts. In his final season at Chattanooga, the big man averaged 22 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 blocks in what was a really impressive year.
Gortman is a 6’2″ guard that played for Overtime Elite this pas season, averaging 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assist and 2.5 steals while shooting 32.9% from deep.
Allen is another 6’6″ wing with a lot of college experience after playing at Utah for three seasons and then Texas for two. He has no 3-point shot but is a quality defender that averaged 13.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his college career.
Tubelis may be the most interesting of the bunch as the Lithuania native has a great college pedigree at Arizona. He was named an All-American in his final season after averaging 19.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists. The 6’11” big man doesn’t shoot many 3-pointers but has nice touch inside and in the mid-range, allowing him to score in a variety of ways.
Lakers looking to move back from 17?
With less than a week until the draft, rumors have started circulating that the Lakers could be looking to move down from No. 17 in order to add a quality veteran rotation player.
It remains to be seen what Rob Pelinka will be able to pull off on draft night, but as of now there are a variety of directions he can go to improve the Lakers’ roster for the 2023-24 season and beyond.
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