Los Angeles Lakers: Cameron Oliver an excellent option with No. 28 pick

Regardless of what the Los Angeles Lakers do with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Nevada’s Cameron Oliver would be a nice selection with their second first round pick.

With the 2017 NBA Finals over and everyone moving into the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have several decisions to make with the 2017 NBA Draft.

The second overall pick has been centered around three players – UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, Kansas’ Josh Jackson and Kentucky’s DeAaron Fox. All three have gone through private workouts and all three make sense for Los Angeles’ roster. That said, Ball and his ability to distribute and run an offense should give him the advantage in the end.

While the second pick is coming down to three players, Los Angeles’ second first round pick, the 28th overall pick, is wide open. In that area, you take the best player available on the board. The Lakers did this before by taking Larry Nance Jr. at No. 27 in 2015. So far, Nance has shown the ability to be a quality big man with a bit more offensive upside than people think.

This year, the Los Angeles Lakers should take Cameron Oliver if he’s on the board.

Oliver, a sophomore forward from the University of Nevada, finished with averages of 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this past season. After a strong start early in the season, Oliver turned it up even more in conference play. Even with a loaded frontcourt, Oliver makes sense for Los Angeles as an upside play who can become a potential starter in time.

The first is the defense. Oliver looks to be a sound defender at the rim but also has the ability to step outside a bit and contest players on the perimeter. That versatility, along with his size – 6’9″ with a 7’1″ wingspan, via Draft Express – should allow him to work as a power forward and dabble at the backup center spot.

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The advanced numbers – 23 percent defensive rebounding percentage, 5.1 Defensive Box Plus-Minus and a career block percentage of 8.7 percent suggests that Oliver was Nevada’s best defender and could be an impact defender at the next level.

Offensively, he provides the ability to space the floor. After shooting just 68 threes as a freshman, Oliver took 172 threes as a sophomore and knocked down 38 percent of them. There’s hope that he could take that over to the next level, becoming a potential long-range threat in the frontcourt — something Los Angeles needs.

At the rim, he’s good at finishing, knocking down 70 percent of his shot attempts at the rim. The entire profile looks to be the rare big man who can defend and space the floor. Of course, there are other elements too — Oliver could become a better playmaker — but if he can shoot from beyond the arc and provide some solid minutes as a defender, that’s valuable, even as a role player.

The Los Angeles Lakers have to deal with figuring out who to take with their second overall pick. The decision between UCLA’s Lonzo Ball and Kansas’ Josh Jackson is not an easy one and has, even more weight when you consider that the Lakers don’t have their 2018 first round pick due to the Steve Nash trade.

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However, the Lakers should have their eyes on someone who can provide the best value available. That could come in the form of good defense and shooting. If that’s the case, I’d nominate Cam Oliver if he’s on the board, as his ability to shoot and defend the rim could benefit Los Angeles in the coming years.

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