The NBA Draft Combine is set to begin in Chicago as all teams will get the chance to take a close look at a number of prospects. Most top prospects won’t attend the combine, but arguably the top overall player, Washington guard Markelle Fultz, will be in Chicago.
While he likely won’t participate in any of the testing or scrimmages, Fultz will have the opportunity to speak with teams. According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the Lakers are one of a number of teams expected to interview Fultz:
Markelle Fultz expected to interview with several teams here in Chicago -Boston, Phoenix, Lakers, Philly, Sacramento & NY, source told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) May 10, 2017
This should come as no surprise as the Lakers could potentially hold the top pick in the draft and Fultz will certainly be in play should they move up. Recent reports have Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Josh Jackson, and De’Aaron Fox as the players the Lakers are considering should they retain their top-3 protected draft pick. In addition to Fultz, Fox will also be in Chicago for the combine.
Even though his team struggled, Fultz had an outstanding season in his lone year at Washington. He showed an outstanding offensive repertoire with a number of ways to score the basket. He is also an excellent passer who makes his teammates better and is capable of playing both backcourt positions.
Things will finally start to get clearer for the Lakers in less than a week as the NBA Draft Lottery will take place on May 16. At that point they will finally learn whether or not they keep their draft pick and Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka will be able to start moving forward in their plan to bring the Lakers back to greatness. Whether Fultz is a part of those plans will ultimately depend on where the ping pong balls bounce.