The Los Angeles Lakers brought in six prospects to work out at the Toyota Sports Center on Tuesday morning, their first group of workouts for players they’re considering with their late first round and early second round picks. General manager Mitch Kupchak says he doesn’t expect to bring in the top prospects (for their No. 2 draft pick) until either next week or the week after.
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Above is a summary of day one of the workouts with TJ McConnell, Bryce Dejean-Jones, Kevin Pangos, Seth Tuttle, Maurice Walker, and Dez Wells. Below, are quotes from each of the prospects. For each player’s individual interview, click on their name. The Lakers will continue their workouts on Thursday morning.
“I compete everyday. I’m not just a shooter, not just a set-up guy. I can do a bunch of things. Whatever, they need me to do, I’m flexible, just come in every day and work my tail off. Be really scrappy, give it my all, every possession. Not give up.”
“I smiled. It’s awesome, just having this opportunity. The Los Angles Lakers, what’s a better organization than that?”
“It was an honor to be able to put on the Laker gear. It still hasn’t hit me yet.”
“I’d hope they (former teammates) would say I’m a great leader and just worked hard everyday. I’d hope they’d say I was selfless. An assist was more satisfying to me than scoring.”
“I’ve been watching (the Lakers) since I was probably 5 years old. It’s crazy now growing up, working out to be able to be on this team…coming here working out on the court is like a dream come true.”
“Loyalty is one of the first things on my list so when I go out on the court with a group of guys. They’re like family to me, so that’s how I take the approach to basketball. Whatever it takes to win, that’s what I’d like to do.”
“Anytime you get to play in this building, it’s quite an experience.”
“I think I can stretch the floor, versatile in a way. I feel like I’m a really smart player, and so I know where the ball needs to be, I know where to be on defense. Just an overall understanding of the game.”
“My efficiency down-low, I think I’m a great back to the basket scorer. I was knocking down my shots today, hopefully my jumper sticks out. I can bang in the low-post, be a guy you can throw the ball into and make things happen.”
“I thought I did really well. I made shots, I competed really hard, I played the right way, so I think doing all those things in NBA workouts is a recipe for a good one…You wait for this process throughout your whole life so when you get here, you just let loose.”
“I’m a jack of all trades, I can do some of everything.”
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