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The Los Angeles Lakers have the Nos. 17 and 55 picks in the upcoming NBA draft and are reportedly doing their due diligence with a number of workouts.
Basketball insider Adam Zagoria reported Monday that the Purple and Gold hosted North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, Baylor’s RayJ Dennis, Memphis’ David Jones and Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas for workouts.
It should be noted that none of those four were included in Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman’s latest mock draft, so they are likely attempting to play their way into the bottom half of the second round.
Yet that No. 55 pick may not be too available when it comes to the Lakers.
Wasserman projected Los Angeles to use that choice on Bronny James, who is the son of the legendary LeBron James. LeBron James has a player option for next season, so drafting his son could be something of a recruiting tool for the Lakers.
But they are still going to do their homework regarding other prospects, and these workouts are another step in that process.
Bacot is the most notable name from the list after an excellent career with the Tar Heels that included four All-ACC selections and an ACC All-Defense nod. He averaged a double-double of 13.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game throughout his career.
Dennis bounced around some and spent time with Boise State, Toledo and Baylor. He was the MAC Player of the Year in 2022-23 but still played well against elevated competition as an All-Big 12 selection during his one season with the Bears.
Jones was an All-AAC selection with Memphis this past season, while Thomas was the CAA Player of the Year at Hofstra. Thomas averaged an impressive 22.5 points per game during his final collegiate campaign and will look to bring that scoring touch to the NBA level.
It remains to be seen whether he will get a chance to unleash that scoring touch with the Lakers or another team, but he is at least getting an opportunity to show what he can do with a workout.
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