The Los Angeles Lakers are working hard to get every scrap of information that they can about the players available in this year’s NBA Draft. With the second and 28th pick, the Lakers will investigate a wide range of players so that they can make the right decision when the time comes.
With that goal in mind, the Lakers front office showed up in force to a pre-draft workout on Saturday hosted by CAA Basketball and Catalyst Sports. President of basketball operations Magic Johnson, general manager Rob Pelinka, Director of Player Personel Ryan West, President of the South Bay Lakers Joey Buss, and director of scouting Jesse Buss were all in attendance as well.
The workout was taken in by essentially a who’s who of the basketball work, with each team doing what they can to see prospects in person. In addition to all of the Lakers front office personnel, point guard D’Angelo Russell also took in the action at the CAA workout with Magic, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express:
Lakers president Magic Johnson sharing a light-hearted moment with D'Angelo Russell (@dloading) at the @CAA_Basketball Pro Day in LA pic.twitter.com/roQyydlsgx
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 3, 2017
There were plenty of prospects at both, but undoubtedly the biggest was Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox who showed off his shooting and athleticism at the Catalyst Sports workout via Givony:
Snippet from De'Aaron Fox's workout at @CatalystSM Pro Day in LA. Thought he shot the ball well, showed his explosiveness on a few big dunks pic.twitter.com/3NDorPNWAY
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 3, 2017
Fox is projected to be a top-five pick and could be a serious option for the Lakers, especially if the recent rumor that they would not select Lonzo Ball if the draft were today is true.
However, there are a number of other options for them to explore with the 28th pick as well, including Duke’s Luke Kennard and Oregon’s Jordan Bell. Expect the rumors to continue flying up until draft day, which is June 22nd.