It's the order in which these one-and-done collegiate players will be selected that remains open for debate. The fourth-year combo guard wants a chance to show the Lakers that he can work well with D'Angelo Russell and whomever gets taken with the No. 2 overall draft pick.
De'Aaron Fox (l.) outplayed Lonzo Ball (r.) in their head-to-head matchups this past year in college.
"It's going to be those five guys", an National Basketball Association executive whose team has a mid-first-round pick said Friday. Some teams are sending out smoke signals.
Meanwhile, another set of rumors recently circulated that suggested the Boston Celtics are considering taking in Jackson and making him this year's No. 1 draft.
That all changed in the past few days, as Boston surprised the basketball world by trading the first overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, likely sending Fultz to Philly. LaVar will get to say he willed it into existence and that it was destined to be, and we'll all tune in and wait for what happens if he's not happy with the direction of the Lakers.
"It's amusing because people just talk". "They have the skill level, the athleticism". But in a draft with some other great guards, it's easy for the N.C. State product to get overlooked.
I figured it was probably the wrong time to tell them about the Currys.
Unlike Magic, Lonzo is a long way from 6-foot-9.
"Jonathan Isaac would be in that group if he was a little more developed and stronger", one executive said. Do not bet on them staying at third overall though. So the draft is really good.
After Ball worked out for the Lakers last week, he didn't mince words about his hopes to make it permanent: "Of course".
According to ESPN, the Lakers already reached out to two lottery teams.
He is primed to be taken second in the draft by the Lakers, which could be a match made in heaven.
The gamble is enormous for Ainge, who has run the risk that Fultz will blossom into an NBA All-Star for a division rival. He was sixth in the nation in scoring (23.2) and 15th in assists (5.9).
Iowa forward Cordell Pemsl showed an insane degree of toughness last season as he admitted to reporters this weekend that he played almost his entire freshman season with two torn groins. But he can score from the perimeter or put the ball down and hit the pull-up jumper and could eventually guard both forward positions.
- NIGEL WILLIAMS-GOSS: The 6-3 junior was a second-team AP all-American (16.8 points, 4.7 assists) in leading Gonzaga to the NCAA championship game. "He could be a beast defensively". However, in today's small ball era, Ingram could play as a stretch four like Kevin Durant does on occasion.
The versatile, athletic forward plays hard on both ends of the floor. "We don't do it every year, but most years or whenever we can, we try to go through our first round of workouts and say, "alright, who stood out, who do we like".