The Los Angeles Lakers landed the No. 2 in the upcoming NBA Draft for the third consecutive season, meaning they will be able to add another premiere young prospect to their young core of players.
With this year’s draft class being so highly regarded, the Lakers brass is currently working out players and doing their due diligence to figure out what prospect is best for the organization.
Among the players they have already worked out are UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball, Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox, North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith Jr., and Kansas forward Josh Jackson, who has worked out twice for the Lakers already.
They also have a workout scheduled with Washington point guard Markelle Fultz on Thursday, although many believe that Fultz will go No. 1 to the Boston Celtics.
Additionally, the Lakers have also expressed interest in bringing in Ball for a second workout like they did for Jackson, although no official date has been set yet.
That workout may be crucial if Ball wants to play for his hometown Lakers, as right now it appears the Lakers are split between him and Jackson, via Broderick Turner of the LA Times:
But according to several NBA officials who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter because no decision has been made yet, the Lakers are split over whether to use their No. 2 pick in the NBA draft on Ball or Jackson.
The Lakers, the officials said, have been having a healthy debate on which course to take because they are intrigued by the talents of both players.
Bringing both in for second workout shows how torn the Lakers are between the two, which is fair considering both prospects have very unique skill sets.
If the Lakers decide to go with Ball then he would help the team play a more uptempo style, while Jackson would help improve the team’s defense, which has been a big struggle in recent years.
Who the Lakers choose could also depend on how they view D’Angelo Russell, as if they took Ball that would shift Russell to shooting guard where he can be more of a scorer. Drafting Jackson would keep him at his natural point guard position though, where he could continue to be a playmaker for his teammates and himself.
