{"id":62870,"date":"2024-02-01T09:52:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T14:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=62870"},"modified":"2024-02-01T12:19:38","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T17:19:38","slug":"los-angeles-lakers-looking-ahead-to-the-2024-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/01\/los-angeles-lakers-looking-ahead-to-the-2024-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Lakers: Looking Ahead to the 2024 Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trade season may still be upon us, but it\u2019s never too early to begin thinking about the 2024 NBA Draft. In what is considered a pivotal offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers, headlined by <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a>\u2019s $51.4 million Player Option, improvement is priority no. 1 for the front office. That could be even more important depending on how this troubling campaign shakes out.<\/span><\/p>\n

One area the Lakers will need to focus on is the 2024\u00a0<\/span>NBA Draft<\/span><\/a>. Here\u2019s their situation as it stands right now, and the prospects they could target as June approaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Los Angeles Lakers: Looking Ahead to the 2024 Draft<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Lakers\u2019 First-Round Pick Situation<\/b><\/h3>\n

Because of the blockbuster <\/span>Anthony Davis<\/span><\/a> trade<\/span><\/a> from 2019, New Orleans controls LA\u2019s 2024 first-round pick. <\/span>The Pelicans must decide what to do with that pick<\/span><\/a> prior to draft night, but they\u2019ll consider multiple factors, according to <\/span>Lakers Nation<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Of course, the Pelicans will consider the Lakers\u2019 place in the 2024 draft order and where they expect L.A. to land in 2025, but that can\u2019t be their only consideration. Additional determining factors may include the flexibility and expense of the Pelicans\u2019 roster, the depth of the draft in the range the Lakers would be projected to pick, and New Orleans\u2019s urgency for trade assets in the event they want to swing a draft day deal in 2024.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As of right now, the pick is <\/span>projected<\/span><\/a> to be in the late lottery range, which may incentivize the Pels to use it sooner rather than later. Still, a lot can happen between now and June 26. Luckily, the Lakers still have a chance in the second-round, where they\u2019ve found some solid prospects in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers\u2019 Second-Round Pick: What Mock Drafts Are Saying<\/b><\/h3>\n

As of right now, <\/span>the Lakers own the Clippers\u2019 2024 second-round pick<\/span><\/a>, which is projected to fall between the mid-40s and mid-50s. The team could prioritize wings and centers\u2014should they choose to keep the pick\u2014and various outlets have them taking solid rookies available in that range.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bleacher Report\u2019s latest mock<\/span><\/a> has LA taking Arkansas big man <\/span>Trevon Brazile<\/span><\/a> with the 54th pick. The 6-foot-9 bruiser has averaged 8.9 points and 6.5 rebounds as he makes his way back from a torn ACL. Prior to the injury, he averaged 11 points, six rebounds, and one block in nine games. The setback hindered his offensive development, but Brazile has remained a promising player. There\u2019s no doubt he can return to <\/span>the athlete he was pre-injury<\/span><\/a>, and he should be on the Lakers\u2019 radar as time goes on.<\/span><\/p>\n

NBA Draft Room<\/span><\/a>, meanwhile, has the Lakers going after sharpshooters among the 2024 draft class. They have LA taking Indiana wing <\/span>Mackenzie Mgbako<\/span><\/a>\u00a0with the 45th overall pick. Mgbako is a first-year forward averaging nearly 11 points (39% FG, 32% 3PT, 84% FT), 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists. The numbers may say one thing, but the film says another. <\/span>Mgbako tallied 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds against Harvard<\/span><\/a> on Nov. 26, getting to his spots and scoring primarily off the catch. <\/span>His offensive versatility makes him a unique pick<\/span><\/a>, especially at 19 years old. Sports Illustrated also noted that he has \u201c<\/span>the tools to be a great modern forward, but also the throwback power forward skillset sprinkled in.<\/span>\u201d Though Mgbako could very well be a first-round talent, the Lakers should still keep an eye on the one-and-done wing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Could the Lakers Still Trade Their 2024 Pick?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Lakers could still trade the second-round pick to try and land\u00a0Dejounte Murray<\/a>, Royce O\u2019Neale<\/a>, or any of the other players they\u2019ve been targeting as of late. They could also move on from their 2029 first-round pick or second-rounders in the near future (e.g. two in 2025). But if the Lakers want to develop another rookie, they at least have this mid-to-late second-round pick in their arsenal.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trade season may still be upon us, but it\u2019s never too early to begin thinking about the 2024 NBA Draft. In what is considered a pivotal offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers, headlined by LeBron James\u2019s $51.4 million Player Option, improvement is priority no. 1 for the front office. That could be even more important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":62029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62,556],"tags":[49040,240,779,2889,38],"class_list":["post-62870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-nba-draft","tag-2024-nba-draft","tag-anthony-davis","tag-arkansas-razorbacks","tag-indiana-hoosiers","tag-lebron-james"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}