NBA Draft News: Arizona’s Kadeem Allen headlines Lakers’ 2nd pre-draft workout group

The Los Angeles Lakers’ summer is moving ahead full steam, continuing to pan through prospects far and wide with one month until the NBA Draft. The top prospects haven’t begun their workouts yet, but the Lakers have the No. 28 pick to work with and plenty of players to get a closer look at.

The Lakers held their first pre-draft workout Monday and are back at it again Tuesday with another round of prospects.

Based on the players they’re targeting, LA is clearly casting a very wide net to be prepared for a variety of scenarios. Artis and Allen would be reaches with the 28th pick, but perhaps if they traded out of the first round they could target them with a deeper selection.

Here’s a few words on each of the next players they’ll be looking at.

Kadeem Allen out of Arizona is a 6’3 guard that has major upside as a defender. His 6’9 wingspan is an inch longer than Jordan Clarkson’s, which is to say he’s got insane length he successfully leverages defensively. Topping it off is he shot 42.7 percent from deep.

DraftExpress ranks him at 75 in their top 100 list, and they were kind enough to put together this video of Allen putting in some serious defensive work on Markelle Fultz (8-of-23 on the night):

Jamel Artis is a classic Lakers target. The four-year forward out of Pittsburgh enjoyed his best season as a Senior, averaging 18.2 points per game. He shot 39.2 percent from three-point range, though, which is why the Lakers would be interested in the 6’7 swingman.

Sidy Djitte out of Clemson is another deep pick. The 6’10 four-year center is a raw prospect, in the draft conversation because of his ability to defend from inside out as well as switch on pick-and-rolls. The Lakers already have a project big man, but why not get a look at another prospect with a different skillset?

J.J. Frazier, a surprising player to look at. The 5’10 guard out of Georgia averaged 18.8 points per game as a Senior but wasn’t much of a distributor nor could he shoot the ball well, a dismal 30.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Perhaps his 36-point outing against Kentucky earned him a nod from the scouting department:

Josh Hawkinson steadily improved throughout his four-year career at Washington State, capping things off by shooting 40.6 percent on 2.2 three-point attempts per game as a Senior. The 6’10 forward is also a defensive rebounding demon, averaging a double-double the past three seasons. He has the profile of a pick-and-pop, floor-spacing big man, which means the Lakers and other teams will definitely be interested in at least taking a look at his game.

Lastly is Junior swingman L.J. Peak out of Georgetown. Peak showed promise in his Sophomore season as a prototypical three-and-D specialist (40.9% 3P) but struggled to find his touch this season. His percentage dropped to 32.7 percent, dropping him out of the top-50 prospects.

There’s no doubt about the Lakers’ extensive efforts at making sure they get as many players in as possible this summer. The first lottery-talent workout they have is going to be the big moment, though.