The NBA draft is a few days away, and teams are beginning to finalize their top options for their respective draft picks.
The Los Angeles Lakers have only the No. 22 overall pick this year, barring any trades that would move that pick or bring in more.
Los Angeles has conducted workouts with players like Trey Murphy III of Virginia, Jaden Springer of Tennessee and more, and those players are likely options in the early 20s.
Another prospect the Lakers worked out is Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu, who is also mocked to go to L.A. by Zach Harper of The Athletic in the latest mock draft:
“Previously, we’ve had Sharife Cooper here in this spot, and Cooper may still end up as a guy who cracks the top 20 in this draft. However, I’m pairing the Los Angeles Lakers with a different lead guard this week with Ayo Dosunmu. A lot of executives and scouts seem to be pretty impressed with everything Dosunmu can do. He’s 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. He’s a solid enough playmaker, but he’s a little sloppy with the ball and much more of a scorer than anything. His 3-point shot came around this year, but he didn’t even attempt three 3-pointers per game. If the Lakers keep this pick, he could be a nice backup guard right away.”
Selecting a guard with the No. 22 pick would be a plausible choice given Dennis Schroder, Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker are all free agents this summer, with the latter being restricted.
Dosunmu served as a do-it-all guard for Illinois, averaging 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 35.1 minutes per game.
His wingspan allows him to defend multiple positions on the defensive end, and his 3-point shooting looks promising to develop at the NBA level; he improved in his last year to 39 percent on 2.9 attempts per game.
However, Dosunmu will need to clean up the turnovers to be a consistent ball-handler because he averaged 3.3 a game in his final year.
Los Angeles needs more serviceable ball-handlers equipped with the abilities to search for their own shot or create for others on a regular basis with or without LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the floor. Dosunmu has shown the potential to do that, which would make him a possible target at No. 22.
The draft commences on July 29.
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