During last year’s college season, no player dazzled fans the way that Buddy Hield did. The Oklahoma senior delighted crowds with his incredible shooting displays, drawing some comparisons to Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Even Lakers star Kobe Bryant was “blown away” by the performance that Hield put on.
In spite of his impressive play, Hield hasn’t been considered a serious candidate for one of the top two picks in the 2016 NBA Draft. He has a few things going against him, like the fact that he is on the older end of the draft spectrum as a 22-year-old senior.
However, according to Brad Turner of the LA Times, the Lakers, who own the second pick in the draft, will give Hield a work out next week:
Lakers to workout Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield June 18, per source. Wonder if Hield, a great shooter, is a possible dark horse candidate at 2?
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 10, 2016
While the Lakers aren’t believed to be considering Hield for the second pick in the draft, it still behooves them to do their due diligence. A trade could materialize that would allow them to move back in the draft, and should that happen they need to make sure that they are familiar with all the available prospects.
Hield’s shooting stands out and he has proven that he is not afraid of the big stage. But there are questions about whether or not Hield will be able to get his shot off against NBA defenses. He became known as a tough-shot maker in college, but against NBA athletes the fear is that those tough shots won’t fall as regularly, which then makes them bad shots.
The Lakers continue to work out most of the top prospects in this draft as they also worked out Cal forward Jaylen Brown and Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere. It’s still very likely that the Lakers will select either Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram when they are on the clock on June 23rd, but they will rightly take a look at any top prospect who is willing to work out for them.