Though a lot of people expected the Los Angeles Lakers to move the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the team ended up staying put and selecting Jalen Hood-Schifino with the said pick.
The team can still decide to trade him, but as of right now, that doesn’t seem to be the Lakers’ direction. According to a report from Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, the team plans to keep Hood-Schifino.
“Back in Los Angeles, the Lakers front office worked a bunch of different angles, including potential options to trade down in the first round. The team, though, decided on Hood-Schifino, with sources quickly signaling that the intention was to keep the selection.”
The article from Woike also noted that Rob Pelinka believes Hood-Schifino is a “lottery talent”, and it is easy to see why that is the case. Hood-Schifino has solid tools for a guard, being 6’6″ with a 6’10” wingspan. He also has great vision and defensive ability. One of the things Jalen Hood-Schifino will need to work on, though is his 3PT shooting, as he only shot 33.3% from the 3PT range during his time with the Indiana Hoosiers.
The Los Angeles Lakers will have a number of guards hit free agency this season, including Dennis Schroder and D’Angelo Russell. That could mean that Hood-Schifino ends up getting a rotational role in the future, but of course, we’ll have to wait to see how free agency unfolds for the team.
The Los Angeles Lakers Might Be Interested In Trading For Jalen Suggs
Even though the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t trying to necessarily trade Jalen Hood-Schifino, that doesn’t mean that the team is done making moves. The guard position is clearly an area of the team that they are trying to address, with them notably being linked to Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs.
Jalen Suggs would give the Los Angeles Lakers an element of perimeter defense and playmaking, and it’d definitely be interesting to see him lead the bench unit. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and it is clear that he might have some untapped potential that the Los Angeles Lakers could unlock. This past season, Jalen Suggs put up 9.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.9 APG.
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