The Los Angeles Lakers may not have their own No. 10 overall pick in the NBA Draft, but a savvy trade deadline deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers gave them the No. 25 pick and a chance to add a valuable role player. Last year, they added Kyle Kuzma at No. 27 and Josh Hart at No. 30, two picks that look to be home runs after only season in the NBA, so it’s fair to assume that the Lakers are going to get good value out of their selection this season. It just seems that the player they are targeting is an odd choice.
According to Aran Smith of NBADraft.net, the Lakers have their eye on young big man Mitchell Robinson, and that according to a rumor floating around the Combine, the Lakers made a promise to select Robinson in the first round. That rumor is supported by the fact that Robinson has decided not to participate in pre-draft activities, which he would only do with an ironclad promise considering his specific circumstances.
Robinson has more to prove in the pre-draft process than most prospects. After initially committing to play for Western Kentucky in the 2017-18 season, the former top recruit ultimately decided to leave college entirely to prepare for the NBA Draft. That means that teams have only high school film to evaluate him from, so on paper, workouts and other pre-draft events would be his best chance to get drafted. Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka is a former agent, so he understands the nature of draft promises better than just about anyone. His word may have been enough to get Robinson to stop working out at the Combine in the hopes that other teams would pass on him due to a lack of information.
The Lakers are the rare NBA team that has an abundance of young talent on the perimeter. In Lonzo Ball, they believe that they have their point guard of the future. Brandon Ingram, Hart and Kuzma are all wings who can defend multiple positions and shoot three-poianters, a skill that is in short supply league-wide. Their top two free agent targets this offseason, LeBron James and Paul George, fit the same bill. What the Lakers lack right now is a center who can help their defense. Robinson blocked six shots per game in high school, so he clearly has the raw ability to be a rim-protector at the NBA level.
But with rumors flying over this promise, teams picking ahead of the Lakers may look at Robinson more closely. That is the danger of keying in on one player so early in the process. It invites other teams to evaluate that player more thoroughly than they otherwise would have. The Lakers had such a successful draft last season that teams might want to mimic their strategy. Of course, that also means that the Lakers could be trying to bait another team into drafting Robinson with this supposed promise. Nothing should be taken as a fact during the NBA Draft process. But the Lakers looking for a center makes too much sense to ignore this entirely.
