The Los Angeles Lakers had high hopes for their 2023 draft picks Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis, but so far neither has been able to justify it.
Both were drafted as projects that needed development so it wasn’t surprising when they weren’t able to contribute during their rookie seasons. Heading into year two though, the expectation is for both to continue developing to become NBA rotation players.
Unfortunately, Summer League didn’t exactly showcase that as Hood-Schifino was not able to play for the Lakers after undergoing back surgery in March and Lewis greatly struggled offensively.
It appears both have been making some progress since then though and are receiving positive reviews during offseason workouts, via Dan Woike of the L.A. Times:
Both Hood-Schifino and Lewis, though, have earned positive reviews during this stage of the offseason. It’s especially encouraging for Hood-Schifino, a player mostly spoken about in the context of the three players picked behind him: Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. at No. 18, Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski at 19, and Houston’s Cam Whitmore at 20.
Hood-Schifino didn’t come close to contributing last season, a knee injury slowing him at the start of the year and a back injury ending it early. Finding and creating pathways for success for young, improving players is critical for Redick as he and the Lakers try to thread the needle between maximizing LeBron James’ late prime while building for whatever is next.
Hood-Schifino, in particular, faces a lot of pressure to improve this season considering the Lakers drafted him 17th overall, ahead of guys who contributed to their teams during their rookie season like Jaime Jaquez Jr., Brandin Podziemski and Cam Whitmore.
The Lakers also traded up to draft Lewis so were clearly very high on him coming out of Pepperdine. He will need to continue developing to justify that pick.
Considering the Lakers did not make any moves this offseason, guys like Hood-Schifino and Lewis will be relied upon for depth purposes. They likely won’t be in the rotation to start the year but if some injuries start to pile up the Lakers may need to turn to their 2023 draft picks and they will have to be at least passable options for JJ Redick in 2024-25.
Jalen Hood-Schifino expected to be healthy by start of Lakers season
If Jalen Hood-Schifino is drawing positive reviews during workouts then that would signify that he back is feeling healthy enough to be on the court. And recent reports support that, saying that the point guard is expected to be ready for the start of the Lakers’ season.
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