Lakers interview Donte DiVincenzo before 2018 NBA Draft

The Los Angeles Lakers are casting a wide net as they continue to prepare for the 2018 NBA Draft, with Villanova guard and NCAA Championship hero Donte DiVincenzo being the latest player the front office is taking a look at.

According to Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer, the Lakers were one of eight teams to interview DiVincenzo at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine:

DiVincenzo averaged 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game during his sophomore season, but he is by far best known nationally for his scoring explosion in Villanova’s National Championship win over Michigan, in which DiVincenzo poured in a team-high 31 points on 10-27 shooting while knocking down five of his seven 3-point attempts.

DiVincenzo also grabbed five rebounds and dished three assists to help power the Wildcats to the title.

As a reward for his efforts, DiVincenzo is rapidly rising up draft boards, and is now the 33rd-best prospect in the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. That placement would seem to leave DiVincenzo unlikely to fall to the Lakers’ 47th overall selection, but does mean he could be in range for their first round pick (No. 25 overall) if he impressed in their interview like he seems to be at the combine:

Measurements are impressive, and the Lakers’ have been shown to very much value strong combine performances (it was part of what led to them selecting Kyle Kuzma), but it remains to be seen how real of a factor this makes DiVincenzo in the discussion for either of their picks. As always, this is mostly just evidence the team is doing their due diligence on every available option.

Here is an updating list of every player the Lakers have worked out or met with. All stats per sports-reference.com. A full list of every prospect we know the Lakers have worked out is available here. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen, or support his work via Venmo here or Patreon here.