Sunday’s NBA draft lottery provided a bit of a surprise and some unfortunate good luck for the Clippers, who saw the Thunder not jump into the top four while also having the Pacers slip, resulting in the other LA team picking fifth.
The Wizards secured the top pick, a familiar place for an Anthony Davis team to be, while the Jazz, Grizzlies and Bulls round out the top of the draft.
The Lakers knew their spot in the draft some time ago following a coin flip with the Knicks that saw them land at the 25th
pick. With the season on the brink of ending and the draft now approaching, let’s take a look at some of the prospects fans can start searching for on YouTube.
SB Nation — Joshua Jefferson, forward, Iowa State
In a bit of a spoiler for the rest of these picks, this is the only non-center mocked to the Lakers. However, wings are always a valuable commodity and the Lakers certainly could use more of them.
Here’s what Ricky O’Donnell had to say about this pick:
Jefferson is a big, strong forward who brings two-way ability and rare passing vision for someone his size. He made a nice leap as a shooter this year to get up to 34.5 percent from three (a career-best), but he’ll need to continue to grow in that area. He will add some toughness and rebounding to any frontcourt, and his ball handling and playmaking would let JJ Redick’s coaching staff get creative with his usage.
Friend of Silver Screen & Roll and draft expert Mike Garcia also shared some insights on Jefferson in his recent Substack post.
Simply put, he has an NBA body and reads the floor. He has a sense of confidence with the basketball and just plays poised all the time. It helps he knows exactly where to be and what to anticipate on both ends of the floor. This kind of reading ability, a lot of NBA players don’t reach.
What makes him appealing? He’s just mobile enough to be switchable, but reads the game so well, he’ll likely be neutral defensively as a big wing and possible back up 5 as a rookie, which is an absolutely big deal.
ESPN — Henri Veesaar, center, North Carolina
The general consensus is that the Lakers need an athletic, lob-catching center. However, there also might not be that type of player available. Instead, there’s a different option in Henri Veesaar from North Carolina.
Here’s Jeremy Woo’s insight:
Veesaar comes off a productive season at North Carolina and will offer sheer size and viable shooting (42.6% from 3) in a draft that has become light on true centers. He has above-average athleticism and offensive skill for his size, plus he should also be able to hold up defensively in drop coverage. The functionality he offers on offense and defense should allow him to plug into a rotation next season.
The Athletic — Henri Veesaar, center, North Carolina
Woo wasn’t alone in projecting Veesaar to LA as Sam Vecenie of The Athletic followed suit as well.
Veesaar is projecting like he prefers to stay in the 2026 draft, and he’d be a pretty excellent fit as a floor-spacing complement for the Lakers with all of their perimeter talent. Yes, Luka Dončić tends to like more of a rim-running big than a floor-spacer, but the Lakers simply need talent at the center position. At 7-foot, Veesaar moves very well for his size and also has a high-end skill set that involves both passing (as he averaged 2.1 assists per game) and shooting from distance, as he hit 42.6 percent of his three 3-point attempts per game.
CBS Sports — Rueben Chinyelu, center, Florida
Veesaar isn’t the only center expected to be available in the range of the Lakers’ pick. Reuben Chinyelu isn’t quite a lob-catching big, but he’s still a center that could prove valuable to the purple and gold.
Here’s Adam Finkelstein’s thoughts on the potential selection:
Chinyelu is another one who may very well be headed back to Florida next year, but is ready to impact an NBA game defensively right now. At 6-foot-10 with a nearly 7-foot-8 wingspan, he’s freakishly long, powerful, and yet totally switchable with great recoverability. The offense has improved, but is still limited. The Gators are waiting, but it’s not hard to see how Chinyelu could be exactly what the Lakers need.
Our good friend Mike Garcia also wrote about Chinyelu in his Substack post:
Steven Adams’s strength is otherworldly, but if there was a more mortal version of that kind of archetype, it’s Rueben Chinyelu. Rueben isn’t that kind of giant, but he has one advantage defensively that Steven Adams doesn’t have; the ability to mirror smaller point guards defensively along the perimeter, while still being a dominant rebounder. This also makes him great at hedging or trapping in screen situations and recovering to the roll man.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
