The Los Angeles Lakers are struggling this season to the point that the franchise may inevitably need to start focusing on the upcoming 2014 NBA Draft. A high draft pick appears to be on the horizon for the Lakers for the first time since drafting Andrew Bynum with the 10th pick back in 2005.
With that being said, the team will likely begin to evaluate the players expected to enter the draft with Dante Exum of Australia quickly emerging as a top prospect. Although few know much about Exum and what he may or may not be able to do on the NBA level, the Australian product is getting a lot of buzz as of late and plans to talk to Kobe Bryant about making the jump from high school to the NBA according to Jon Tuxworth of The Canberra Times:
Canberra schoolboy Dante Exum plans to sit down with Kobe Bryant to learn the secrets behind the superstar’s successful leap from high school to the NBA.
Bryant let the 18-year-old prospect know that he’d be willing to give him advice and signing with the superstar’s agent, Rob Pelinka, has only made things easier for the two to connect.
Apparently, along with Exum signing with Pelinka, the Lakers are starting to show interest in the promising young prospect and having the Bryant connection is definitely helping matters:
The Lakers, in the midst of a disappointing season, have already contacted Australia basketball great Luc Longley to discuss Exum, who led Canberra’s Lake Ginninderra College to last year’s national schoolboys title.
“A reason why I signed with the agent I’m with is he has Kobe Bryant, and he’s been through this when he came into the NBA,” Exum said.
It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here for the Lakers. Landing a high draft definitely appears to on the horizon for the storied franchise, but anything can happen from here on out.
________________________________________________________________________
NICK YOUNG: Biggest Frustration is Feeling Like He’s Let The Fans And City Down
