Lakers Linked to Highly-Touted Lottery Pick

The Los Angeles Lakers have the No.22 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Well, recent prospect meetings suggest that the franchise may be open to move up. Gonzaga Corey Kispert lists LA as one of the teams he had meetings with. The Lakers front office will try to get the best of the lottery pick.

NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes tweeted that Kispert has interviewed with “a dozen teams.” He met with both LA teams and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kispert didn’t say anything about the Wizards. They needed someone like him and will pick in his particular range.

Kispert will probably be long gone by the time LA hits the clock with their No. 22 pick. The franchise may be looking to move up the draft board. Kispert may go to the San Antonio Spurs at No. 12 as suggested by Heavy’s latest mock draft.

Kispert would help the Lakers deal with one major problem. LA struggled with the shooting this season and Kispert was one of the best shooters in college basketball. He was one of the top NCAA players in 2021. He was averaging 18.6 points, five rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 44% from behind the 3-point line.

The Lakers front office to fill up a hole with their lottery pick

The Lakers really struggled with the 3-point shooting and ranked No.23 with the 34.9% shooting. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said the front office will address this issue in the offseason.

“You can never have enough shooting so it’s something that’s always at the top of our mind when we’re building and constructing a roster,” Pelinka said, per Lakers Nation. “I think it’s important too, part of successful shooting is having special players that create the shooting space and for us, that comes primarily from LeBron and Anthony.

“You bring up this series, but when you take someone like Anthony out of some of the games, it changes the spacing and shooting success and everyone knows, LeBron talked about it last night, we knew when he had a high ankle sprain that it would probably not be until the offseason that got 100%. But I think that the success of our shooting is driven by those guys creating the space and because of the things we face with injuries, some of that space is altered.”

Kevin O’Connor from The Ringer said Kispert is someone like Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Harris. He will be a late lottery selection and LA will have to move up to get him.

“Elite shooter both off the catch and the dribble,” O’Connor described Kispert’s strengths. “Quick release from all over the floor. A potential 50-40-90 player. Creates simple shots for himself. With the ball, he can throw a pump fake then score by attacking closeouts. Without the ball, he has the awareness to find open space for jumpers or cuts to the rim. Helps facilitate the flow of the offense by making smart, rapid reads. Reliable, hard-nosed positional defender who puts himself in the right spots, whether in off-ball help situations or in man-to-man matchups.”