AJ Hammons (Photo : Twitter)
Thon Maker (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The LA Lakers are at the center of the NBA Draft talks because of their second overall pick.
They can address a major positional need with that pick by taking Brandon Ingram. However, they will still have a hole in the middle as they are likely to let go of starting center Roy Hibbert.
While the free agency goals of Hassan Whiteside, Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Bismack Biyombo have been floating around, but until they are signed, nothing is assured. The Lakers would be better served addressing their needs on draft day.
Fortunately for them, there are options that could be available with the 32nd overall pick according to Hoops Habit.
It would be difficult to gamble on a big man especially on the second round. The Lakers have not been lucky if you consider their gambles on Robert Sacre and Robert Upshaw, but they did find a dependable reserve in Tarik Black who is actually undrafted. As the Lakers do not have other picks aside from 2nd and 32nd, they have to make the most of it.
AJ Hammons of Purdue was considered as the underachiever of College Basketball being a full 7 feet, 260 lbs and a McDonald's All American, he was supposed to be the next important big man. However, his underwhelming performances made him skip the past two years' drafts. The projections were bleak and this is why he returned for his senior season. He did show signs of improvement with a 15 point, 8 rebound average.
As Carter Johnson stated, Hammons possesses what Sacre and Upshaw do not: genuine talent on the offensive end.
The knock on Hammons is conditioning and sometimes competiveness. For a player projected to be dominant, there are now nagging questions on his drive. Also, his age is now a factor as he will be 23 years old.
For the Lakers, that only means he does not have much "upside." But as BT Powerhouse suggested, "a team could take Hammons as a late first round/early second round pick and put him in the right type of environment where he can come off the bench and play 15-20 minutes a game." If expectations are managed, he could have a solid NBA career.
If the Lakers are inclined to gamble, then they could go for broke and try Thon Maker, the ultimate enigma of the draft. His draft projections are all over the place with the consensus being he would be taken by one of the teams which has multiple first round picks: Boston, Philadelphia or Denver.
But if the Lakers find him at no.32, he could be the next Lamar Odom or Kevin Garnett.
