The Lakers reportedly have interest in drafting Stanford guard Tyrell Terry

Barring any setbacks, the 2020 NBA Draft will be taking place on Thursday, Nov. 18. This year, the Los Angeles Lakers will be picking 28th overall after finishing the regular season with the third-best record in the league.

Given the Lakers’ recent track record with late first-round picks such as Larry Nance Jr., Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart, there’s reason to be optimistic that they’ll find another gem in this year’s draft, and according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, that gem could be Tyrell Terry, a 20-year-old guard out of Stanford University:

Stanford’s Tyrell Terry got people talking by measuring around 6’3” and weighing in at 174 pounds, a notable difference from the 6’2”, 160 pounds Stanford lists him as. I’ve heard Terry linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers as teams showing interest.

There wasn’t much NBA draft hype around Terry going into his freshman season at Stanford, but that changed when he started playing games. Through 31 starts with the Cardinals, Terry averaged 14.6 points per game while shooting a scolding 40.8% from behind the 3-point line. His 3-point percentage was the highest in the Pac-12, and ranked ninth in the conference in 3-point makes (62).

Terry’s ability to knock down 3-point shots and move off of the ball is what makes him an NBA prospect; what could solidify his status as a first-round pick is his overall offensive game. While most of Terry’s shot attempts are either catch-and-shoot jump shots or pull-up jump shots, he’s also not afraid to attack the rim, which is a good sign for a player his size. If Terry continues to add weight to his slender frame, it’s very easy to see him blossoming into a three-level scorer at the next level.

The big question for Terry is whether or not he’s going to be able to contribute on the defensive end of the floor. Terry is a capable team defender, but he struggles in one-on-one situations because of his size and weight. If the Laker are looking for a player that will be ready to contribute from day one, he probably isn’t their guy. If they’re willing to stay patient with like they seem to be with Talen Horton-Tucker, that’s a different story.

The truth is that we won’t know what the Lakers’ plans are until the night of the draft and neither will the Laker because of the nature of the late-first-round. That being said, it’s not hard to imagine them being interested in a player like Terry. Now, they just have to hope he’s on the board when they pick.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.