The LA Lakers have not been very successful in the NBA free agency derby, to say the least, but they seem to have done well in the draft.
With the NBA's summer league in Las Vegas, we get to see the first glance at Brandon Ingram as a Laker. The smooth and silky moves to the basket that attracted scouts to him at Duke were present, and looked even more polished.
The Lakers took Summer League seriously bringing out practically their entire young core. Ingram, last year's 2nd overall pick D'Angelo Russell and late first round pick Larry Nance Jr shone for the team in a 85-65 triumph over the New Orleans Pelicans squad.
One of the major revelations in the game was 2016 second round pick Ivica Zubac, a young 7-1 center who displayed post moves and monster blocks.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider had a positive review for Zubac.
"The Lakers' second-round pick, No. 32 overall, Zubac was a bit of a mystery to everyone but draftniks. His first impression stateside was a positive one.
Zubac showed both the power to back down defenders in the post and the patience to either get a good shot or move the ball. He demonstrated touch out to midrange and looked better than advertised at the defensive end of the court," Pelton said.
Contrary to projections that he might be a long-term project or even a draft-and-stash prospect, Pelton noted that "Zubac will join the Lakers this season after signing a multiyear contract and the early returns suggest he might be a rotation-caliber player right away."
Pelton also noted that D'Angelo Russell showed vast improvement and maturity compared to his first summer league outing last year.
"As a rookie, Russell had an uneven summer league, struggling with turnovers and his shooting percentage. More confident and experienced a year later, Russell was the best player on the court in the Lakers-Pelicans game. He flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, albeit also five turnovers," Pelton said.
The game also saw the first glance at another top prospect, Buddy Hield of the Pelicans. However, he failed to make a good first impression. He shot only 5 for 20 from the field and had numerous turnovers.