The Los Angeles Lakers ended up having a somewhat eventful second day of the draft after taking the first day off. They traded up twice in the second round to get to No. 36, where they decided to select Arkansas forward Adou Thiero.
While Thiero has a chance to be a rotational player as a rookie, he doesn’t help fill the Lakers’ biggest need, which is at center. The team hasn’t been shy about wanting to upgrade the position after Jaxson Hayes proved to be over his head in the playoffs.
General manager Rob Pelinka knows Los Angeles needs a center, and he’s vowing to find an answer this offseason.
“Coming off the draft, we’ll be digging deep in meetings upstairs just prepping for free agency,” Pelinka said on Spectrum SportsNet after the draft. “As I said at the end of the year, we know one of the things we have to address is the center position and that’s clearly gonna be one of our focuses as we begin the free agency period. And that’s right around the corner, so we’re just looking forward to putting in the hard work and making sure we take care of all the needs on the roster to give JJ the tools he needs for this team to be great next season.”
Lakers to Be Active in Trade Market
The Lakers were supposed to be title contenders heading into the playoffs last season, but ended up losing in the first round. While center is an obvious position that the team needs to upgrade, there are plenty of ways the team can get better.
Pelinka plans to be aggressive in the trade market this offseason.
“Super active. We’re gonna turn over every stone and whatever resources the collective bargaining agreement gives us, we’re gonna use to the utmost,” Pelinka said. “That’s what we gotta do. We have a couple players with player options, so we’ll get those decisions in just a handful of days, and at that point, we’ll know the tools that we have to go out into free agency and fill out the roster. But with the draft ending tonight, the work for that has already begun, but the draft focus will now shift to free agency, and we won’t rest until we get it right.”
Lakers Praised for Thiero Pick
The Lakers didn’t want to miss out on landing a strong prospect in the draft, which is why they ended up being aggressive in Round 2. Time will tell if Thiero is actually going to be an NBA player, but Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor gave the Lakers an “A” grade for the pick.
“The Lakers made multiple aggressive trades to move up within the second round, and Thiero was the perfect target,” O’Connor wrote. “He’s a slasher with a jacked frame and an explosive first step who last season logged 45 dunks and had six games with 10 or more free throws. He lives in the paint, and that’s despite his limitations as a shooter. If he’s able to figure out the shot then his length and defensive versatility could make him a key player on a contending Lakers team.”
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