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The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten to the point of their pre-draft research, featuring workouts from guys who actually have a chance at getting selected. In today’s episode of the Locked on Lakers podcast, Pete joined the show to talk about some of the guys who make the most sense.
We start by taking people through both our different ways of handling this time of year. For me, I can’t hope to be nearly as good as those who study collegiate athletes year-round, so I pay attention to the names those types of analysts all seem to praise and see if there is a realistic chance at any of them becoming Lakers.
Some such names: Josh Akogie, Kevin Huerter, Mitchell Robinson (who has been linked multiple times to the Lakers) and Melvin Frazier. We go over what each of those guys bring to the table.
Before getting to anyone specifically, we discuss whether we see the Lakers trading this year’s pick as a means to land more help for a superstar who signs in Los Angeles or to open up cap space for another superstar altogether. The Lakers have options here.
After going through the aforementioned guys and the Lakers’ trade options, we turn our attention to the NBA Finals, which tipped last night. Pete (like most) thinks this series is not very likely to be close. I kind of disagree. We both explain ourselves and then battle to the death.
We also discuss whether these teams meeting for the fourth straight finals is a good or bad thing for the NBA. Where we agree is that the NBA needs to do something to help close the gap between the western and eastern conference. For much of the last two or three decades, the west has been laughable far ahead of the east. Pete and I offer up our ways of straightening that out.
Listen to the full conversation below.