The Los Angeles Lakers managed to come out with a haul of promising young players despite not having a pick less than a week ago.
The Lakers struck up a trade with the Orlando Magic for the No. 35 pick that they used to take Michigan State guard Max Christie. However, the team was not done stocking the cupboard as they also signed Vanderbilt guard Scotty Pippen Jr. to a two-way contract.
Pippen was known for his scoring prowess at Vanderbilt, but Rob Pelinka had high praise for his defense and competitiveness.
“Scotty Pippen Jr., who is just a tenacious defensive-minded kid that is gonna compete every night he plays and I think will really change the complexity of camp because I know he’s gonna compete for a position and play hard and we just loved his attitude when he came here and worked out.
“Loved what he did in Chicago and we just think those three players are gonna add a certain amount of energy to what we do when camp opens and we’re really excited.”
Like his father Scottie Pippen, it seems the younger Pippen took pride in competing hard on that end during his workout.
“I think Scotty Pipped [Jr.], he came in for a draft workout here and was one of the most competitive players that we had in the building, especially defensively just really got after it.”
The Lakers could definitely use more defensive-minded players on the roster after the disappointment of their 2021-22 season, so having someone like Pippen in the wings bodes well for their future. It will be exciting to see the guard in action during Summer League as well as how he develops within the organization over the course of the next year.
Scotty Pippen Jr. discusses love for Kobe Bryant growing up
As a scoring guard, Pippen’s had plenty of people to model his game after. In fact, he spent a couple of years of his high school life in Los Angeles watching his favorite player Kobe Bryant. After his pre-draft workout with the Lakers, Pippen expressed his fondness of the Black Mamba and even admitted to borrowing some of the legend’s moves.
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