Los Angeles Lakers: 7 players to target in the 2020 Draft

Prospects To Target: Point Guards & Wings

Prospects: Point Guards

Seven players remain, four of whom are point guards: Nico Mannion, Tre Jones, Cassius Winston and Malachi Flynn. If Rondo returns and Alex Caruso develops as a playmaker, this shouldn’t be a major area of need next season. If Rondo leaves, however, the Lakers would be in need of another playmaker.

Mannion is a solid offensive player, but there’s skepticism about his ability to translate this to the NBA level. Additionally, his limited size and athleticism will make defense a challenge. Jones was one of the stingier defenders in college basketball, but his offensive limitations would make it hard for him to see meaningful minutes next season.

Winston is likely the best passer of this group and he has the shooting ability (43.2 percent) to play off-the-ball as well (see below for an example of his craftiness around the basket). Defense is an area of concern, but he could be good enough offensively to offset this. Flynn is a solid playmaker and shooter as well (37.3 percent), and despite so-so athleticism, is likely a better defender than Winston. Both players could contribute as early as next season and should especially be considered if Rondo doesn’t return.

Target List: 

Josh Green

Killian Tillie

Xavier Tillman

Cassius Winston

Malachi Flynn

Prospects: Wings

The remaining three players are shooting guards, although it’s probably more accurate to classify them as wings: Jahmi’us Ramsey, Cassius Stanley and Elijah Hughes. Hughes is likely the best pure scorer and shooter of the group (19.0 ppg – see below an example of his shot-making ability), but given he played zone defense at Syracuse, questions remain about his ability at this end of the floor. Stanley is the best athlete of the trio but struggled with fundamentals on both ends. He shot fairly well as a spot-up shooter (36.0 percent), but it’s not clear whether this will translate. Ramsey isn’t quite the scorer that Hughes is but he’s better than Stanley. He isn’t quite the athlete Stanley is but he’s better than Hughes. Similar to each of these players, he projects as a potentially capable defender, but questions remain on this side of the ball.

Although his athleticism provides upside, it’s hard to imagine Stanley contributing next season. If Hughes and Ramsey can knock down 3-pointers and hang defensively (both of which are possible), they could both see meaningful minutes. Hughes, in particular, could be a steal if 1) his shot translates and 2) the zone defense hid how good of a man-to-man defender he can really be.

Target List: 

Josh Green

Killian Tillie

Xavier Tillman

Cassius Winston

Malachi Flynn

Elijah Hughes

Jahmi’us Ramsey

The NBA Draft is always a bit unpredictable, and it’s even more difficult to predict which prospects will end up panning out under these circumstances. That said, focusing on the seven prospects above seems to be a reasonable strategy for LA’s front office.