Ranking the Los Angeles Lakers' Best Options with No. 34 Pick in 2015 NBA Draft
The Los Angeles Lakers struck gold on the night of the lottery when their fourth-worst record in the NBA turned into the No. 2 draft pick.
But there is also real value in the team’s No. 27 and No. 34 selections. One only need remember last year’s draft night for proof of this fact.
The Lakers purchased the Washington Wizards’ No. 46 pick and promptly used it to choose Jordan Clarkson—a 6’5” ball-handling guard from Missouri.
And over the course of an otherwise dismal season, the sleeper guard became a genuine hit—Clarkson made the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Could lightning strike twice in this year’s second round?
There are a plethora of possibilities for the Lakers’ No. 34 pick—some, of course, are better than others.
The one thing management shouldn’t do, however, is to simply sell it.
6. Tyler Harvey, SG, Eastern Washington
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Tyler Harvey would have better draft prospects if he were just a few inches taller.
Nonetheless, the Lakers had the nation’s leading collegiate scorer in for a group workout on Monday.
Harvey averaged 23.1 points per game at Eastern Washington this season with a remarkably efficient 43.1 percent from behind the arc. He also had a true shooting rate of 64.3 percent.
On the downside, he is a shooting guard with a point guard’s size. He lacks great defensive skills and is not known for distributing the ball. The junior from the Big Sky Conference measured 6’2 ¾” and 181 pounds at the Lakers workout. Andrew Goudelock, please stand up.
Regardless of the challenges, the native of Torrance, California was thrilled to be working out for the team he idolized growing up.
“We used to have Laker parties at my house, cheering on the Lakers,” the 21-year-old said, per Joey Ramirez of Lakers.com. “I was talking to my mom last night, and she just can’t believe I’m actually coming here to work out for the team.”
Size aside, Harvey’s pure shooting stroke and super-quick release are NBA-translatable skills. He’s also particularly adept at coming off curls and screens and firing off shots before a defender can get up on him.
The Lakers need shooters in the worst way, and Harvey would be a nice fit in Byron Scott’s screen-heavy system.
It will be interesting to see if the lights-out shooter gets a call-back workout.
5. Alan Williams, C/PF, UCSB
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Like Harvey, UC Santa Barbara forward Alan Williams is an undersized, dark-horse candidate.
He worked out for the Lakers Tuesday and measured in at 6’8” and 261 pounds. But he’s not lacking for strength or tenacity on the glass.
The NCAA’s leading rebounder snagged 11.8 boards per game as a senior and 11.5 the season before. He’s also a model of consistency, finishing his collegiate career with a double-double average of 14.5 points, 10.0 boards and 1.9 blocks per game.
Per Bill Oram of the Orange County Register, Williams models his low-post power after a much bigger player—Shaquille O’Neal: “Although I’m not as tall, I think I have that same kind of desire to hit somebody and be the most physical guy out there.”
Williams also mentioned Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors as examples of forwards who play larger than their height.
Logically speaking, an undersized big isn’t tops on the Lakers’ needs list right now. But there’s something to be said for rebounding excellence and a “desire to hit somebody.”
The mini-Shaq found himself battling another hardworking wide body on Tuesday—Lakers assistant coach and a former teammate of O’Neal’s, Mark “Mad Dod” Madsen.
“He’s got that grown man strength I haven’t been accustomed to yet,” Williams said, per Oram. “I think he did a phenomenal job, and I held my own.”
4. Draft and Stash Overseas Option
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Drafting and stashing a player could be a good option—but perhaps not the optimal one for a team that needs to get better now.
While the Lakers aren’t masters of international development like the San Antonio Spurs, they did hire a European scout in 2011, Antonio Maceiras.
The organization has some previous history when it comes to sampling overseas cuisine—drafting Vlade Divac in 1989, signing undrafted free agent Slava Medvedenko in 2000 and selecting Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic as the 27th overall pick in 2004.
L.A. also drafted Marc Gasol and kept him in Spain until trading his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies for his older brother Pau.
Given the luxury of three picks this year, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak appears to be open to parking one of them.
“We may draft a player that you might have to wait a year or two for in Europe,” Kupchak said recently, per NBA.com. “We don’t know yet.”
Among the possibilities is Guillermo Hernangomez, a 6’11” center with CB Sevilla in the Spanish league.
The DraftExpress mock draft has this to say about him:
"Hernangomez is one of the most productive young players in Europe, and could either be stashed for a few years in Spain, or brought over right away. The Lakers have one of the best international scouts in the business living in Spain, so they will surely have a great comfort level with him.
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Other international prospects include combo forward Aleksandar Vezenkov, who averaged 17.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in Greece this season.
And then there’s Nikola Milutinov—a rail-thin 7-foot Serbian dunk machine who averaged 9.8 points and 7.6 boards in the Adriatic league.
The draft-and-stash route makes a lot of sense if Hermangomez is still available at No. 34. The appeal begins to wane, however, with less talented candidates on the board.
3. Andrew Harrison, PG, Kentucky
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When it comes to positions of need, Andrew Harrison and the Lakers could be an interesting match.
Harrison, who played with shooting guard and twin brother Aaron at Kentucky, is a lead guard with great size and strength. At 6’6” and 210 pounds, he has exceptional ball-handling abilities. And while he's not as gifted a shooter as he is a playmaker, he’d be an intriguing backcourt addition.
Harrison, who played alongside top lottery prospect Karl-Anthony Towns this season, saw his numbers dip during his sophomore year. The reason had to do with Kentucky coach John Calipari’s decision to implement a platoon system, which reduced minutes for everyone across the board.
That said, the guard’s per-40 minutes improved from the previous season, from 5.0 to 5.6 assists and from 13.7 to 14.6 points per game.
But while the 20-year-old can thread the needle with precision passes to cutting big men, it’s his ability on the other end of the floor that could be the most intriguing to Scott and the Lakers.
“Defensively, Harrison has the potential to defend either guard position,” wrote Josh Riddell for DraftExpress, “as his physical tools give him the lateral quickness to stay in front of smaller athletes, while his length and strength will help him against bigger matchups, allowing him to contest shots very well out on the perimeter.”
Los Angeles needs depth at the point guard position. Whether they want to take another gamble with a second-round rookie is another question altogether.
2. Jonathan Holmes, PF/SF, Texas
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Jonathan Holmes' NBA success may depend on how well he can shift effectively between positions.
Measured at 6’9 ¼” at the NBA combine in Chicago, per DraftExpress, Holmes has shown a willingness to adapt. In his senior year, the Texas Longhorn lost weight and shifted over to the small forward position to make way for incoming freshman power forward Myles Turner.
Holmes’ strength and defensive quickness prompted Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead to compare him to Golden State’s Green: “What scouts love most about him is his ability to defend on the wing and inside, and there’s a feeling that he’s got the potential to hold his own when he’s matched up with a point guard in the pick-and-roll.”
But while his defense is solid, there’s a question of how successful he can be on the other end of the floor. Holmes nearly doubled his three-point attempts this season but was streaky at 33 percent. On the other hand, he has an arsenal of effective paint moves.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress profiled Holmes at the combine:
"Holmes isn't exactly great in one area and still has room to improve as a jump shooter, but with his NBA ready body and offensive versatility he's a solid option for a playoff team looking for someone who can play a role right away as a stretch four who can play some three in a pinch. Players in his mold are very much en vogue in today's NBA, and it feels like Holmes still has plenty of upside to grow into, despite being a senior.
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The Lakers sorely need small forward help.
The 22-year-old is an intriguing prospect who is worth a long look.
1. Trade the Pick
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There are some decent options for the Lakers’ 34th overall pick. But a higher selection would clearly be better.
Also preferable would be the ability to acquire a useful veteran player. Los Angeles could package the 27th and 34th picks or add an asset to either pick in order to execute a trade.
As Kupchak recently said, per Lakers.com: “Our basic philosophy is to use the three tools available to us. Which is the ability to make a trade, the draft and cap room during the offseason.”
The more you give, the more you get. And while the No. 34 pick is useful on its own, imagine how much better it could be.
Could a low-scoring team like the Milwaukee Bucks with their 17th pick be interested in volume shooter Nick Young and a draft selection?
The Denver Nuggets, who recently met with Mike D’Antoni regarding their coaching search, according to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, could be another interesting redemption destination for Swaggy P. And, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes, the Nuggets might be blowing up their roster this summer, with players like Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler in possible flux.
Or what about trading up for a chance at a small forward like Sam Dekker from Wisconsin? The 6’9” junior isn’t a lottery prospect, but he’ll be long gone by the time L.A. gets on the board for its second or third bite at the apple.
But if the Lakers were able to swap those two picks for the Toronto Raptors’ No. 20, they might have a chance at Dekker or perhaps Justin Anderson from Virginia.
There are myriad other possibilities but just one central truth—the Lakers’ best option with their No. 34 pick is to turn it into something of greater value.
Unless otherwise noted, stats are courtesy of ESPN and Sports-Reference.
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