With the NBA Draft Lottery set to take place Tuesday and the draft nearly one month away, prospects are beginning to speak out on getting drafted and what it means to fulfill their dreams of playing in the NBA.
When asked about the potential for playing with the Lakers and Steve Nash, former Syracuse point guard, Tyler Ennis delivered some praise for the Laker, according to Mark Medina of the LA Daily News:
“Nash is definitely one of the best point guards who played the game and he’s one of my favorite players,” Ennis said. “To go to a team and learn from him would be amazing for my career.”
Despite being injured for the majority of his Laker career, Nash is still highly regarded by young players as someone they would love to learn from. Over the past season, several Lakers shared their own acclaims over Nash. In the case of Ennis, it appears his love for Nash also stems from growing up in Canada.
As it stands, Nash serves as general manager for the Canadian National Basketball Team and harbors a close relationship with Canada’s younger basketball players. Many Canadians have followed Nash in taking their basketball talents to American schools. Ennis spent his freshmen year at Syracuse before declaring for this year’s NBA draft.
Along with Dante Exum and Marcus Smart, Ennis is seen as one of the best point guard prospects available in the draft. While most have him going after Exum and Smart, it can not be ruled out for the Lakers to pick up Ennis. The latest mock draft from MyNBADraft currently has Ennis going to the Denver Nuggets with the 11th pick, but there is still plenty of time for him to improve his stock before the draft.