The Lakers haven’t yet made a decision as to who they will select with the No. 2 overall pick on June 22 when the 2017 NBA Draft is held in New York. Markelle Fultz is the consensus top pick for the Boston Celtics, and while Lonzo Ball is projected by most to the Lakers at No. 2, there is reportedly some division within the L.A. front office as to whether Ball is their pick.
This all could be smokescreen, and when the Lakers are on the clock it very well could be Ball whose name is called by Adam Silver, but the Lakers are doing their due diligence with the other top draft prospects. On Tuesday, the Lakers worked out Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox and Kansas wing Josh Jackson (who reportedly cancelled a workout with Boston on Monday), both projected top 5 picks in the draft and the two who most anticipate are the biggest competition for Ball to go No. 2.
Fox was the first to workout for Magic Johnson, Luke Walton, and the rest of the Lakers’ front office and coaching staff. The Lakers reportedly liked Fox based off of his head-to-head performance with Ball, and Fox came into his workout with L.A. looking to prove that he was deserving of that No. 2 spot.
The biggest knock on Fox is his shooting ability. He’s a gifted passer, driver, and defender, but he was not a consistent shooter in college. Fox told reporters (via Lakers.com transcript) after his workout that he shot well and proved that he is always working to improve his game.
“I feel like it went well,” Fox said. “I shot the ball well, showed that I can play point guard, getting up and down the court. Just trying to show that even if I was fatigued I could fight through it.”
“That I can shoot the ball well,” said Fox when asked what he wanted to prove to the Lakers. “I stay in the gym. I’ve always been a gym rat. I’ve always been working on my shot. That’s just one thing. And that I’m a fighter. Even if I’m tired and my hands are on my knees, you’re still going to get the most out of me.”
That second part of his answer is likely not a random one-off comment from Fox. A report from Monday noted that some in the Lakers’ organization were a bit concerned about Lonzo Ball’s conditioning at his workout. That likely found its way to Fox and Fox’s team, who likely made sure he was ready to show that he’s in great shape and ready to work.
Fox said that his biggest focal points this offseason have been to work on his shot and strength to handle the physicality of the NBA — Fox has an extremely slender build, even for a point guard.
“When someone says something’s a weakness, you want to turn it into a strength,” Fox said. “If there’s anything, it’s really my body and shooting. That’s what I’ve really been working on this summer.”
Fox shrugged off a question about his head-to-head college matchup with Ball, but he’s previously noted that he feels that did help his draft stock and proved his ability to compete on the highest level. As for his other workouts, Fox says he’s only worked out for the Kings and the Lakers, but anticipated one other workout prior to the draft. The Kings are reportedly enamored with Fox and are considering trying to deal Nos. 5 and 10 to the Sixers for the No. 3 pick.
Jackson likewise said his workout with the Lakers was about showing that he had been working on his perceived weaknesses and to see what his conditioning was like, per the Lakers.com transcript of his media availability.
“The focus was just to see if I was in shape, I think,” Jackson said. “Just shooting and, like I said before, to see if I’ve been improving on my weaknesses, like ball handling a little bit, shooting. And I think I did pretty good.”
Jackson admitted that his ball-handling and shooting stroke were his biggest weaknesses, but felt they were coming along. As for strengths, he highlighted his athleticism, and also noted that he felt one of his biggest strengths was his defensive versatility and the ability to guard multiple positions.
“I think I can play pretty much one through four for an NBA team,” said Jackson. “Playing the four at Kansas really helped me out a lot. I wasn’t too excited about playing the four coming into Kansas, but we caused a lot of mismatch problems, and I think it really bettered me as a player.”
While he felt he could defend the four, he did admit that it would likely take some time to develop into playing power forward regularly, getting stronger and adding more weight. Jackson’s versatility makes him an intriguing prospect for the Lakers, who could pair he and Brandon Ingram together in small-ball lineups, but in doing so they would likely give up some strength to the opposition.
We’ll find out in just over a week whether Jackson or Fox were able to wow the Lakers’ organization into selecting them over Lonzo Ball, or if the Lakers will end up taking the UCLA star as so many expect.
