Lakers News: Scotty Pippen Jr. Headlines Friday's NBA Draft Workout Participants
June 2, 2022
The Los Angeles Lakers do not have a pick in the 2022 NBA draft, but they are still looking at players they could add via other methods such as undrafted free agency.
Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported the Purple and Gold will host Vanderbilt's Scotty Pippen Jr. and Notre Dame's Paul Atkinson Jr. among a group of six players for draft workouts on Friday.
Pippen and Atkinson could both be available after the draft for the Lakers. After all, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman did not include either prospect in his most recent mock draft.
While Pippen may have his work cut out for him to be drafted, he is certainly familiar with what it takes to succeed at the NBA level. He is the son of Chicago Bulls legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, who won six NBA championships as part of one of the most famous teams in sports history.
That is plenty to live up to, but the younger Pippen was an All-SEC first-team selection two times and averaged 20.4 points, 4.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from three-point range in his final season with the Commodores.
Atkinson started his collegiate career with Yale and caught the attention of major programs when he was the Ivy Player of the Year in 2019-20.
He joined Notre Dame as a graduate transfer and averaged 12.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 58.7 percent from the field. While he doesn't generate the offense as a ball-handler like Pippen does, he can score on the low blocks and provide a steady rebounding presence.
Los Angeles could certainly use the help after it floundered on the way to a 33-49 record during the 2021-22 campaign.
Russell Westbrook struggled to adapt to his new team, LeBron James and Anthony Davis struggled to stay healthy for stretches, and the team that entered the campaign with championship aspirations didn't even make the play-in tournament.
Pippen or Atkinson likely wouldn't be enough to drastically turn things around, but they could be part of a larger offseason revamp as the team looks to return to championship contention.