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2019 NBA Draft: Here is everyone the Lakers have worked out

The Lakers are searching for candidates for the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and undrafted free agency. Here is who they’ve taken a look at so far.

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Christian Rivas / Silver Screen and Roll

The Los Angeles Lakers borderline-miraculously landed the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and while there is a strong possibility they end up trading it — general manager Rob Pelinka has said as much himself (Editor’s Note: He eventually did trade it, but there are still plenty of candidates for the later pick the Lakers’ reportedly might buy) — there is also a chance they will use it to pick a player, and the team has been fully preparing for that possibility over the last several weeks by working out and interviewing several candidates for those picks.

Additionally, the Lakers — who do not currently have a second-round pick (yet) — appear to have been doing their due diligence on potential undrafted free agents for Las Vegas Summer League, or the South Bay Lakers. They haven’t revealed the names from those workouts themselves (which is normal) but by the looks of assistant general manager Jesse Buss’ Instagram stories and the few names that have leaked out, they are sniffing around players in those ranges.

Here is a list of everyone we know they’ve looked at so far, and keep checking back, because we will update this as we get word of more players the team has worked out, interviewed, scouted or otherwise taken a closer look at:

Updates on Monday, June 17

The Lakers may have traded the No. 4 overall pick for Anthony Davis, but before they did, they apparently worked out Darius Garland. ESPN ranks Garland as the No. 4 prospect in the draft.

Updates on Wednesday, June 12

  • The Lakers will reportedly work out Mississippi State forward Aric Holman on Thursday. Holman is not ranked among ESPN’s top 100 prospects in the 2019 NBA Draft, and is probably just another name to keep an eye on for undrafted free agency, summer league or the G League team.

Updates on Monday, June 10

  • Darius Garland has not been announced to work out for the Lakers yet, but he has been spotted working out with LeBron James, and he recently said it would be “an honor” to be selected by the team, the latest in a long line of links between the Vanderbilt Guard and the purple and gold.
  • The Lakers have reportedly already worked out have already worked out James Palmer of Nebraska and Milik Yarbrough of Illinois State, and will take a look at Zach Hankins of Xavier in the weeks before the draft. Only Palmer (No. 97) is ranked among ESPN’s top 100 prospects.

Updates on Wednesday, June 5

  • LaGerald Vick will reportedly work out for the Lakers on Wednesday, June 19. The Kansas guard is not listed on ESPN’s top 100 prospects list, and is likely just another undrafted free agency candidate.

Original list

  • Jarrett Culver worked out for the Lakers on Saturday, June 1. LeBron James was in attendance to watch the Texas Tech product, who wants to show he can be an “elite” two-way player, and is ranked by ESPN as the sixth-best prospect in the class. Culver would thus very much appear to be an option at No. 4, and also posted an insane vertical test.
  • Cam Reddish — ranked just below Culver at seventh on ESPN’s list — met with the Lakers at the 2019 NBA Draft combine. The Duke wing shot 35.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range (on 7.4 attempts per game) in his freshman season with the Blue Devils.
  • The Lakers met with Jontay Porter at the combine. Porter — the 42nd-ranked prospect on ESPN’s board — was originally projected as a possible lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, but returned to school in an attempt to raise his stock further. He instead tore his ACL twice and saw his projected draft positioning plummet, and would appear to be an upside play if the Lakers target him.
  • The Lakers are reportedly set to work out Tacko Fall at some point soon. The 7’6” center just wrapped up his fourth and final season at UCF as the NCAA’s all-time leader in field-goal percentage, and is projected to fall out of the draft and be an option for undrafted free agency.
  • Marques Bolden will also reportedly work out for the Lakers in the near future. The Duke center is not ranked in ESPN’s top 100, and is thus likely another name to look out for in undrafted free agency if he impressed L.A.’s brain trust.
  • Justin Wright Foreman reportedly worked out for the Lakers on Monday, June 3. The Hofstra guard is the 76th-ranked prospect in the 2019 class, according to ESPN.
  • Darel Poirier reportedly worked out for the Lakers on Friday, May 31. The French center spent last season in the G League after withdrawing from the 2018 NBA Draft, and is not expected to be drafted and is not on ESPN’s list of the top 100 draft prospects, so this is likely just another name to keep an eye on for undrafted free agency.
  • The Lakers apparently worked out Josh Sharma at some point, according to his former school. The Stanford center is not among ESPN’s top-100 prospects, and is likely another undrafted free agency option or due diligence.

Again, bookmark this list and check back, because we will be updating it as soon as we get updates on more names the team has looked in to.

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