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The Lakers will be hosting their second draft workout ahead of this year’s NBA draft on Saturday. While the first workout featured exclusively players who would be undrafted free agent options, this crop of workouts is headlined by potential second round pick Keon Ellis of Alabama.
Here’s a full list of players taking part in the workout:
- Collin Gillespie – Villanova
- Tyrese Martin – UConn
- Drew Peterson – USC
- Quenton Jackson – Texas A&M
- Keon Ellis – Alabama
- Cole Swider – Syracuse
In DraftExpress’ latest mock draft, Ellis was slated to go No. 49 to the Kings. Last season with the Crimson Tide, Ellis averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 43.9% from the field and 36.6% from the 3-point line.
Lakers fan and draft guru Mike Garcia, author of the Lakers Draft newsletter on Substack, recently wrote about Ellis.
While he’s older than most prospects and still a bit thin in terms of an NBA body, he has a clear motor defensively, especially at the point of attack, shows some explosiveness at the rim when the lane is open, and is a reliable arc shooter at all corners of the floor, even after a pump-fake and a side-step. He’s a more clear archetype of what the Lakers may be looking form.
Currently, the Lakers don’t have a second round draft pick — or any pick for that matter — but have reportedly shown a willingness to buy a pick, which makes working out Ellis rather intriguing. A guard/wing with a high defensive motor is something the Lakers lacked last season and there’s a spot available in the rotation for a player like that.
With still nearly a month before the NBA draft, it will also be interesting to see which other second round prospects like Ellis the team may work out, which could give an idea of the range they’re targeting to buy a pick in once the draft comes around.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
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