The Lakers were obviously disappointed at the NBA Draft Lottery when the team fell one spot to seventh overall. But with a deep draft such as this one, the Lakers could still get a very good player at that spot.
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That is precisely what Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is banking on. In an interview with Jaime Maggio on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Kupchak spoke about hoping to bring in an impact player at that spot:
“We think we’ll get a good player and we hope that when we look back on it he turns into an impact player” – Kupchak (via @TWCSportsNet)
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) May 23, 2014
While the draft is always a crap shoot, recent history suggests the Lakers could get a very good player at that position. Guys like Stephen Curry, Luol Deng, Nene, and Greg Monroe were all drafted at that position in recent years.
The team will obviously be bringing in a number of players to work out individually over the next few weeks, but Kupchak knows that these workouts aren’t the only important thing in judging these potential draft picks:
Re: the draftees, Kupchak tells @jaimemaggio that it’s dangerous to rely on upcoming workouts & ignore the past 3-4 years of scouting
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) May 23, 2014
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Kupchak will undoubtedly do his due diligence on anyone the Lakers will consider selecting with their draft pick. And he didn’t rule out the possibility of trading the pick away. But fans can rest easy knowing that Kupchak has a plan to bring the Lakers back to prominence.
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