The Los Angeles Lakers only made one draft pick this year, and they landed on former Arkansas forward Adou Thiero. Though he spent three years in college, he’ll be a project for the team.
He had a solid junior year at Arkansas, where he averaged 15.1 points a game, but only hit 25.6% of his 3-point shots. Thiero likely isn’t going to see the court much during the regular season, so this is the best time of year for him to work on his game.
However, he had to miss the Summer League due to a knee injury. According to The Athletic’s Dan Woike, there was some initial concern about Thiero’s injury, but he appears to be making good progress.
“There were definitely some eyebrows raised around the NBA when Thiero missed summer league with a knee issue, but I can finally offer a little optimism (we’re 1,000 or so words in so I probably should),” Woike wrote. “I’ve been told Thiero has been working out in the Lakers’ facility and is expected to be participating once training camp opens at the end of September. As far as his role? It’s gonna be crowded. But it’s sort of a universal truth in the NBA. If young players want to get on the court, you do it by making an impact on the defensive end. And Thiero has the tools to make an impact on the defensive end.
“I won’t go too in-depth on Knecht, other than to say that I think NBA evaluators haven’t put much stock into his summer-league performance.”
Will Thiero Have a Role This Season?
If Thiero were a better shooter, he’d have a stronger chance at a bigger role this season. As he continues to work on that part of his game, he’ll have to figure out how to make an impact in other ways.
As Woike noted, being a force on defense would help him a lot. Thiero has good size at 6-foot-8, but also has a 7-foot wingspan. That’s typically a recipe for a great defensive player. He could be what Dorian Finney-Smith was for the Lakers on defense last season, but he’s not nearly the same threat from the 3-point line.
Thiero’s role will be limited this season. He’ll get on the court at times, but it’s hard to see him playing important minutes, especially at first. That said, he could have a bright future if he can truly be an impact defender.
Is Lakers’ Roster Set?
The Lakers have made some smaller moves this offseason, but nothing too notable. It’s easy to be a bit more conservative when you trade for a player like Luka Doncic during the season.
While the Lakers’ roster isn’t perfect, it appears they’re not planning to make any more moves unless a very appealing trade materializes. General manager Rob Pelinka is not known to make many offseason trades, but he’s more active during the season. The Lakers will likely work with the pieces they have now and then consider trades down the road.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Lakers Get News on Promising Young Player After Eyebrow-Raising Injury appeared first on Heavy Sports.