With the NBA Draft right around the corner, Chicago hosted the NBA Draft Combine this past week where prospects had a chance to showcase their skills on the court in addition to meeting and interviewing with teams.
The Los Angeles Lakers could potentially own two first round picks, as they keep their own pick if it falls in the top three, and then they also own the 28th pick that they acquired in a trade with the Houston Rockets. They will find out if they keep their pick this coming Tuesday when the NBA Draft lottery takes place.
Given that they could potentially own two first round picks, the Lakers brass, led by president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, met with a variety of players at the combine.
One player that they met with is Indiana forward OG Anunoby, who was impressed with Johnson’s energy in their meeting, via Tania Ganguli of the LA Times:
Indiana forward OG Anunoby met with the Lakers at the combine. Said Magic Johnson was energetic. There was lots of talk of defense.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) May 12, 2017
This past season Anunoby avergaed 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 55.7 percent from the field. Unfortunately he suffered an ACL tear in January which ended his season and it is unknown when he will be able to return to the floor.
It is currently unknown who else the Lakers interviewed at the combine other than Kentucky guard De’Aaron Fox and Washington’s Markelle Fultz. Many of the top prospects, including UCLA’s Lonzo Ball did not attend the combine.
That will not deter the Lakers or other teams from drafting him though, as the Lakers selected Brandon Ingram with the No. 2 pick last year despite him not attending the combine.
