Two Senior Draft Options For Los Angeles Lakers
With their lottery pick up in the air, the Los Angeles Lakers only have Houston’s first-round pick as a guarantee. That pick is gearing up to have several excellent options.
One of the biggest subplots of the summer involves the Los Angeles Lakers and their 2017 first-round pick. Originally traded for Steve Nash, the pick was seen as just another pick given away as Los Angeles created another superteam.
Then, Dwight Howard left in free agency, Nash retired and Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles — making that pick worth its weight in gold.
Being top-three protected, the Lakers can keep it, but if Lakers fall to the fourth spot, Philadelphia — which acquired the pick in a three-team trade involving Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Knight — would receive the draft pick.
With that pick yet to be determined, Los Angeles only has one first-round pick — a pick received from Houston in the Lou Williams trade — to work with.
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That pick may be another solid pick for Los Angeles to work with.
While the underclassmen continue to figure out whether they want to remain in school or start their professional careers, it’s the seniors who are done with their careers.
While draftniks tend to knock senior players, several seniors have broken the mold and became star players — think Damian Lillard, Draymond Green, C.J. McCollum and Paul Millsap.
The Lakers would love nothing more than to hit on a potential star with their late first-round pick.
There are two seniors that interest me and are deemed interesting fits for the Lakers. As the draft draws nears, we’ll go a bit deeper on these two, but for now, let’s introduce South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell and Kansas State’s Wesley Iwundu.
Thornwell is still playing, leading South Carolina to its first Final Four in school history. Signed as a four-star recruit, Thornwell played three nondescript seasons at South Carolina, shooting less than 40 percent from the field in all three.
Los Angeles Lakers
Then Thornwell blew up a senior, averaging 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.2 steals per game and claimed the SEC Player of The Year award.
With a 6-foot-9 wingspan, Thornwell has the ability to defend both guard positions and maybe even some smaller wings on the perimeter.
With a block rate of 3.7 percent and steal rate of 3.4 percent, Thornwell has potential to make plays on that end and his overall play was huge in helping South Carolina rank second in adjusted KenPom defense.
Combine his defense and decent shooting from beyond the arc — 34 percent on 517 total attempts — and you have an interesting option in late round one.
Ideally, you can play Thornwell in between D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram as a 3-and-D wing. He won’t cover up all of Los Angeles’ mistakes on the perimeter, but he could serve as a solid defender who can hold up on Los Angeles’ backcourt trio with Jordan Clarkson and Russell.
If he can carry over his ability to create, he can even serve as a pick and roll ball-handler in spurts.
From the same cloth comes Iwundu. A three-star recruit from Houston, Iwundu got steady minutes as a freshman and sophomore at Kansas State, but never needed to assume the role of leader.
As his role expanded as a junior and senior, Iwundu flashed a bit of everything on both sides, assisting the Wildcats to a 21-14 record and a win in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
This season, Iwundu averaged 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. In the video above, you see him work as a pick-and-roll ball handler and in transition.
He can get to the rim with ease and finish with ease, converting 62.5 percent of his attempts at the rim, via Hoop-Math.
Standing 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan, Iwundu uses his great length to finish at the rim with ease.
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All of that wingspan is used on the defensive end, too. Iwundu can use his size to defend multiple positions and shows his size to defend both wing positions. He can defend in isolation and he’s a solid working in the pick and roll — both important in the defending on the perimeter.
For Los Angeles, imagine having his length alongside Ingram and his monstrous wingspan.
The issue, however, is the uncertainty from beyond the arc. In four seasons at Kansas State, Iwundu has converted just 51 of his 151 attempts from three. Iwundu saved his best for last — 32-of-85 from three, 37.6 percent, as a senior — but there’s still uncertainty from three.
Still, there’s plenty of enough tools there for him to get on the floor as he irons out his shooting.
While the Lakers anxiously await the results of the lottery, the pick they acquired from Houston for Lou Williams is shaping up to be a nice asset that could allow them to find a rotation player.
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And if both Thornwell and Iwundu are both on the board, the Lakers will have their pick of a nice, defense-first guard.