Lakers Draft Video: Anfernee Simons Scouting Report

Anfernee Simons worked out for the Lakers on June 5th and impressed the team with scoring ability beyond his years. The 19-year old from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida spent the last year in preparation of such a moment, forgoing the college experience while taking a post-grad year at his high school, IMG Academy.

“They (Johnson and Pelinka) said ‘you played really well’ and they were impressed by me coming in, being so young and playing like I’m older than everybody else,” Simons said.

Simons is a highly developed scorer his age, lethal from 3-point range both off of both catch and shoots and on pull-up jumpers. He has a soft touch on his floaters and athleticism around the rim, although he still needs to get stronger to absorb contact.

Let’s take a closer look at his game.

Simons is reminiscent of Austin Rivers or Lou Williams as a player with a point guard size, but a shooting guard’s skill set. He’s still built like a teenager, having just turned 19 on June 8, and that will come with complications early on in his career. Bigger guards will likely bully him, and switching onto a bigger player is out of the question for Simons, but he does have good feet that will help him on the defensive end as he gets older.

The Lakers’ scouting department has preferred more seasoned prospects at the end of the first round in past years, but if they choose to pursue a young player that they can develop, Simons could be a worthy investment.

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