When the Los Angeles Lakers were granted the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, there was a lot of speculation on whether they would trade the pick or make a selection.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the roster, it would have made sense to move off the pick to bring in one or two role players to bolster the roster. However, the Lakers selected Jalen Hood-Schifino, a one-and-done product out of Indiana. The following pick at No. 18 was Jaime Jaquez Jr. from UCLA, who would go to the Miami Heat.
Through 34 games with Miami, Jaquez has shown he is an NBA-ready player, averaging 13.8 points on 50.4% from the field and 35.2% from 3. In his return home to California on Wednesday, the 22-year-old put up 16 points and eight assists on 7-for-14 shooting in 39 minutes.
Meanwhile, Hood-Schifino did not score and had two rebounds in six minutes. It is now being rumored that some people within the Lakers organization wanted to select Jaquez but the team ultimately selected Hood-Schifino, via Sean Deveney of Heavy.com:
As one Western Conference executive told Heavy Sports, “I know there were some people in that organization who wanted Jaime Jaquez to stay in California and be a Laker. He was the perfect role player for what they needed, he is a tough kid, he is a grinder. You could watch him last year and just tell he was ready to chip in for a good NBA team. The Laker like to use their picks to take big swings and not the safe bet, and that is how they were looking at Jalen. But they needed guys who could play now. And look at what Jaquez is doing. They blew it, for sure.”
Throughout Summer League and preseason, it was pretty clear that Hood-Schifino would be a project and needed time to develop. But for a team that is trying to win now, it would have made sense to select Jaquez, who has proven he is ready to contribute now.
While it is still very early into both of these players’ rookie seasons, it does hurt for Lakers fans to see what Jaquez is doing right now and not imagine if he was wearing the purple and gold.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. was happy to not be drafted by Lakers
The prospect of the UCLA forward staying home and playing at Crypto.com Arena in front of fans and family would be a storybook ending, but Jaquez actually recently revealed he wanted to experience something new and was happy to get away from Southern California after not being picked by the Lakers.
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