The Los Angeles Lakers are holding their second pre-draft workout of the week on Wednesday morning, which will be attended by Arizona’s Allonzo Trier and USC’s Chimezie Metu.
The group of participants is round out by Texas A&M’s DJ Hogg, Nevada’s Cody Martin, Iowa State’s Lindell Wigginton and SMU’s Shake Milton. Martin’s twin brother, Caleb, worked out with the Lakers on Monday.
The focus of that session was on defense, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Lakers head coach Luke Walton stressed that end of the floor throughout last season, and the team finished with the 12th-rated defense.
Martin, Metu Milton and Trier are also among the 69 players who were invited to the NBA Draft Combine being held in Chicago from May 16-20.
Los Angeles holds the 25th (first round) and 47th (second round) overall picks in the 2018 NBA Draft. They’ve found success with their late picks over recent years, which can be attributed to Jesse Buss and the inspiration he’s drawn from the San Antonio Spurs.
The organization hasn’t tipped their hand with which way they may be leaning in this year’s draft, though thus far athletic big men and versatile guards/small forwards have made up many of the participants of the pre-draft workouts in the early going.
Milton could be a reach for the Lakers at 25th, or an option for a sleeper pick should he fall to 47th. Metu also fits that the same general range. He averaged 15.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Trojans last season, his third at the university.
