With four picks in the second round (Nos. 41, 46, 56, 58), the Los Angeles Lakers have a great opportunity to come away like bandits in the 2011 NBA Draft. While they probably won’t find a Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker or Jimmer Fredette with their quartet of selections, and although the likelihood of them finding any star power whatsoever is fairly low, there are a number of players who could turn out to be diamonds in the ruff for the Lakers in the future.
With holes in the backcourt, a lack of shooting talent and no backup center, the salary cap gridlocked Lakers are going to have to find cheap ways to fill their pressing voids. Unfortunately, the class of 2011 is expected to be a considerably weak draft class. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they amount of available talent in the second round will be low; rather, the draft is perceived as weak due to its lack of star power, high-ceiling players and virtually no surefire prospects — not because the amount of quality potential draftees drops off the deep end completely after the first 30 picks.
With that being said, here are eight players that you may not have heard of, but if drafted by Los Angeles, could turn out to be perfect fits for the 16-time champion Lakers.
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