The Los Angeles Lakers’ front office and scouting department have a great track record when it comes to the NBA Draft in recent years, and they are hoping that will be the case again this summer.
The Lakers made two selections in the 2023 NBA Draft, taking Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino with the 17th overall pick and then Pepperdine wing Maxwell Lewis with the 40th overall pick.
With the start of Summer League just around the corner, the Lakers need to fill out a roster around those guys and Max Christie and Cole Swider, who are returning from last year.
Rob Pelinka and his staff wasted no time after the end of the draft bringing in more prospects, signing Florida center Colin Castleton and Missouri guard D’Moi Hodge to two-way contracts and Florida wing Alex Fudge to an Exhibit-10 deal.
After a couple days of inactivity, the Lakers have made another Exhibit-10 signing in TCU guard Damion Baugh, per Dan Woike of the L.A. Times:
Sources say the Lakers will sign TCU guard Damion Baugh to an Exhibit 10 contract. A 6-foot-4 guard, he averaged 12.6 pts, 4.7 rebs and 5.8 ast last season.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) June 24, 2023
Baugh is a 6’3″, 185-pound guard that played two years at Memphis before finishing up with two years at TCU. Baugh’s best season was his senior year as he averaged 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 29 games for the Horned Frogs.
Shooting is not his strong suit, however, as he shot 33% from beyond the arc on three attempts per game. In his career, he is at just 29.5% from 3 as his final year was the first time he shot over 30%. While he may not be a good shooter though, he is an exception defender on the perimeter.
The Lakers’ Summer League roster already appears to be very guard-heavy so it remains to be seen how much playing time Baugh will get, but he gives them another ball-handler behind Hood-Schifino.
After signing an Exhibit-10, Baugh will likely be with the Lakers in training camp and then spend the 2023-24 season with the South Bay Lakers of the G League.
Castleton chose to sign with Lakers over being drafted
Taking a page out of Austin Reaves’ book, Castleton’s agent revealed that the big man had a chance to get drafted in the second round but told teams not to do so in order to end up at his preferred landing spot, which was the Lakers.
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