LOS ANGELES — Both the Lakers and Clippers had one selection in the first round and one selection in the second round, but how did they do? Let’s get into it.
Los Angeles Lakers Draft Day Grade: A-
The Lakers drafted Jalen Hood-Schifino with the 17th overall pick and Maxwell Lewis with the 40th overall pick. Hood-Schifino has ideal size and scoring ability (especially in the mid-range game) to play Point Guard or Shooting Guard in the NBA. Hood-Schifino averaged an inefficient 13.5 points per game in his lone year at Indiana (as his eFG% of just 46.8 indicates), but many scouts still love his scoring upside despite the inefficient numbers. He also has a 6-10 wingspan and should be a great defender at the NBA level.
I am one of the evaluators that doesn’t think Hood-Schifino’s game will translate to the NBA right away, but the enormous upside is hard to pass up, especially for a team like the Lakers that needs more young players to help bridge the gap after LeBron James leaves or retires. Hood-Schifino excels in pick-and-rolls and with this selection, I think the Lakers will let D’Angelo Russell walk.
NBA Comp: CJ McCollum but a much better defender
Hood Schifino Draft Grade: B+
Maxwell Lewis is an elite 3PT shooter who has a 7 foot wingspan that allows him to cause problems defensively, but he is far from being a finished product.
The Lakers need more 3PT shooting and Lewis fits the build to help in that area right away, but his 7-1 wingspan makes his ceiling extremely high. Lewis isn’t just a prototypical 3 and D player though, as he has a variety of moves to get to the rim and to mid-range pullups. His secondary shot creation and improving playmaking skills will help the Lakers right away as well, but his versatility on both ends of the floor and extreme upside make this the best pick arguably of the second round.
Comp: Trey Murphy mixed with Brandon Ingram
Lewis Draft Grade: A+
Clippers Draft Day Grade: B+
The Clippers drafted Kobe Brown with the 30th overall pick, and this is a very underrated selection. Brown is a 6-7 scoring forward who can play small-ball Center in the NBA. A lot of people wanted the Clippers to take an immense talent with upside such as Leonard Miller or Trayce Jackson-Davis, but Brown is just an excellent scorer that has a big body (6-7 250 pounds) and will be able to slot in in the rotation right away for the Clippers. Brown single-handedly carried Missouri to the Round of 32 and is very NBA ready. Don’t listen to others, this was a great pick by the Clippers.
Brown Draft Grade: B
The Clippers made their best selection of the night at pick 48, taking arguably the ACC’s best player in Jordan Miller, a 6-7 SG/SF that plays with a lot of intensity and can take over games on offense (indicative of his 27 points 100% from the floor performance to lead Miami over Texas in the Elite 8 in this year’s NCAA Tournament). Miller finished last year at Miami with a TS% of 61.7 and 35% from 3PT range, and should be able to carve a role out on the Clippers as a spark-plug off of the bench. This was one of the best picks of the second round easily.
Miller Draft Grade: A
