NBA Draft Preview with Mike Garcia: Can the Lakers Find a Rotation Player at #17?

The Lakers are in a unique situation when it comes to Thursday's NBA Draft.

First, they have a first round pick, and seem inclined to actually use it, rather than automatically defaulting to sending the selection away in favor of a more established player. And given the amount of turnover teams face now across the league, sentiment around picking the best player available tends to trump picking for need. Then again, for the Lakers, who are on an accelerated timeline thanks to the arc's of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they need a guy who can fit in with that core, and ideally could do it quickly. So are there any players who could step into a rotation next season that will be waiting at the back end of the draft?

What exactly goes into that type of selection? What skills translate quickly to fill a niche at the NBA level, when a player isn't going to step into a starring or big scoring role?

We ask those questions and more to NBA Draft expert Mike Garcia (@canyondriver) who specializes in the Lakers on his Substack.

Who does Mike like at #17? Could Jett Howard be a good choice? What about Trayce Jackson-Davis? Why is he so high on Sidy Cissoko? Who does he want in the second round?

We discuss why the Lakers tend to find good players later in the Draft, whether it makes more sense, given their timeline, to try and trade down, stay where they are or just trade the pick for a veteran altogether.

He believes there will be plenty of talent available to the Lakers, with potential first round talent reaching well into the second.

Get prepared for everything the Lakers might do!

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Draft is Thursday. What kind of depth does this group have? What's available at #17? Does need and fit right now trump the whole "best available" formula?

SEGMENT 2: Who should the Lakers target if they keep the 17th pick? Who fits well with LeBron James and Anthony Davis?

SEGMENT 3: Who could the Lakers target in the second round? Why do they tend to do well there, when other teams struggle?

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