Lakers Expected To Sign Former No. 1 Ranked Star Player

The Los Angeles Lakers will add new players in the offseason and a former No.1 ranked prospect could be one of them. The team made the top of the conference this postseason, but couldn’t get past the Denver Nuggets. Now is the perfect time to make big changes and the front office has several options on the table.

Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo believe that the Lakers could get Nick Smith Jr. The former Arkansas guard was once a top.5 ranked prospect and NBA analysts say he can develop into an impact player. In 2020, Smith Jr. averaged 12.5 points, 1.7 assists, and 1.6 rebounds per game while shooting 33.8% from long range in 17 games at Arkansas.

“Smith is another guard with a wide range on draft night, starting with Washington (No. 8) and drawing serious interest from Orlando (No. 11), Toronto (No. 13) and New Orleans’ (No. 14),” the ESPN mock draft detailed on June 13, 2023. “With a huge glut of guards and wings expected to be picked in this range, there are scenarios that could see Smith fall out of the lottery, giving the Lakers an opportunity to add a significant talent who started last season as a projected top-five pick prior to injuries.

“The Lakers could certainly use a combo guard who can shoot off the bounce, create off a live dribble, finish with creativity inside the arc and bring strong competitiveness on both ends of the floor.”

Lakers have other options to consider in addition to the potential signing of the former No.1 ranked player

Rob Pelinka can easily agree to a trade with opposing teams with multiple picks in the 2023 NBA Draft. He is “exploring trade scenarios as well,” per Woo and Givony.

The Lakers may lose a few players in free agency. Some of them are great fits for the new roster, but some of them will have to go. Let’s see what happens this summer. LeBron James is making the biggest headlines this offseason. He dropped a few shocking hints following the series against the Denver Nuggets and people say he may retire in the near future.