The Los Angeles Lakers’ latest group of six to workout at the team facilities features another intriguing mix of players for the staff to take a look at prior to the 2023 NBA Draft. Miami’s Isaiah Wong and Mojave King of the G League Ignite headline this group that also includes Florida’s Alex Fudge, Akron’s Xavier Castaneda, San Diego State’s Adam Seiko and Memphis’ Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu.
ACC Player of the Year in 2023, Wong is an excellent scoring guard who led the conference in total points while also being a solid defender averaging over a steal per game. He will need to show more consistency with his outside jumper and also improve as a playmaker as he is slightly undersized for a two-guard, but his ability to get buckets at a high level makes him one to watch.
Originally from New Zealand, King spent last season with the G League Ignite to mixed success. His stats don’t stand out, but his potential as a 3-and-D player remain as his shooting form is excellent and he shot well from the free throw line despite his struggles from deep. King also has all of the physical traits to be an impactful perimeter defender and gives great effort on that end as well.
Fudge is a high-energy, very athletic combo forward who mostly makes his mark on the defensive side of the ball. He has a high motor, plays hard at all times and has shown the ability to defend the perimeter as well as offer some shot blocking at the rim. His offensive game is basically non-existent at this point, however, and he will need to make some improvements on that end of the floor.
Castaneda was an All-MAC First Team selection who led the conference in scoring and 3-point shooting, averaging 21.7 points while knocking down 39% from deep. He could be a potential spark plug off the bench, but is undersized for a two-guard at just 6-foot-1 and was not a playmaker in college so he will need to show he can do more than just score at the next level.
Seiko spent five years at San Diego State and was a good shooter off the bench for throughout his time with the Aztecs, shooting 40.2% from 3-point range in his college career. He will need to show he can do more than just shoot at only 6-foot-3 if he plans on forging out a spot in the NBA.
Akobundu-Ehiogu is a rim-running big man who offers upside as a finisher at the rim and a shot blocker on defense. He averaged 2.9 blocks per game in two seasons at UT Arlington before transferring to Memphis last season. Though he played just 10 minutes per game for the Tigers last season he still averaged 1.6 blocks so he has some raw tools, that would need to be developed.
All six of these players project to be either second-round picks or go undrafted, so the Lakers continue to bring in a wide range of players who could be selected in next week’s draft or be brought in for Summer League.
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