The Los Angeles Lakers selected Jalen Hood-Schifino with the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and though many thought that the team should trade the pick, the team ultimately decided to stay put.
For the Lakers to keep Hood-Schifino, it is clear that the team sees something in him. In fact, recently, GM Rob Pelinka suggested that he could become the next Austin Reaves.
“We saw, again, just as a point of comparison, with a player like Austin Reaves, when we drafted him, he wasn’t a knockdown shooter. But he is now,” Pelinka said, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “It’s because he put in work — and work with our staff. And I know that’s something Jalen is committed to too.”
There is no doubt that Jalen Hood-Schifino has a lot of talent, and he could potentially develop into a quality role player for the team. It is unclear whether he can contribute immediately, but if he defends the way he did in college, that should get him some early minutes under Darvin Ham.
During the 2022-23 season with the Indiana Hoosiers, Jalen Hood-Schifino averaged 13.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.7 APG while shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc. We’ll see how good of a player he can become, but it is clear the franchise is high on him.
The Los Angeles Lakers Could Still Target Other Guards
Even though the team clearly believes in Jalen Hood-Schifino, it is clear that they are also exploring other options at the guard positions. In fact, a previous report revealed that they are interested in acquiring Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs.
“One of many storylines I’ll be following tonight: If Orlando goes guard at 6, do they then move former Minnehaha Academy standout, Jalen Suggs? Buzz is that the Lakers are one team with interest. Just turned 22, best ball ahead of him, already great defender.”
We will see whether the interest in Jalen Suggs will end up as a Los Angeles Lakers player. There is definitely a chance that the Orlando Magic decide to trade him given the fact that they just drafted Anthony Black, but we’ll have to wait to see which of their guards end up on the trade block.
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