The Los Angeles Lakers made some interesting moves on Thursday night, selecting Michigan State product Max Christie with the 35th overall pick of the evening. After the event was over, they signed Shareef O’Neal to their Summer League squad that will participate in the Las Vegas tournament next month.
Moreover, they signed the son of another NBA legend on a two-way squad that will enable them to develop the young player. Vanderbilt product Scotty Pippen Jr. is completing the move his father couldn’t in the 2000s, joining the Los Angeles Lakers right after the draft finished.
This is a good move for Pippen, but it was also good for fans to pick on the Lakers and make some jokes about LeBron James getting a solid sidekick to compete for the 2023 NBA championship. One fan joked about Bron finally getting his Pippen, just like Michael Jordan did in the 80s with his Chicago Bulls.
LeBron finally got his Pippen. https://t.co/EeIRMtKPxY
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) June 24, 2022
“LeBron finally got his Pippen,” Ryan Fowler tweeted on Thursday night.
The Lakers didn’t try to land a superstar in the draft, but they found a solid player in Christie. Moreover, they can polish Pippen and O’Neal for the future, just like they did with Alex Caruso or Austin Reaves.
The Purple and Gold are now focused on the free agency, where players like Kyrie Irving or Kemba Walker will be available in trade talks. They could make a big move this offseason to try to compete for the championship next year, but that looks very difficult right now.
Perhaps Scotty can leave his mark on the game as his old man did in the 90s, but it’s too early to tell. He’s now focused on getting better and getting the call from the first team. The Lakers know they have something good in their hands and will try to cash in on that.
