As it often happens in the world of pro sports, the annual draft is one of the most pivotal moments for any franchise, as there is often a gem or two in every draft, surrounded by many regular rocks with some chipped ones on the way, which will fall under the “bust” label years later.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a “real, down-to-the-wire temptation,” when they debated drafting undersized Louisville point guard Russ Smith ahead of Missouri's Jordan Clarkson, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report.
Player personnel director Ryan West and Jesse Buss had vouched for Clarkson, a call that has paid dividends for the team early on in the 2016-17 regular season.
Smith was a proven winner in college and had the right skill set to bring a program of that caliber to prominence, but Clarkson was the bigger, more athletic counterpart (which largely had proven to work in the NBA) and in the short span of two-and-some NBA seasons has developed into a crowd favorite.
Clarkson has made a case for his consideration as an NBA Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 14.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals in 26.6 minutes for rookie head coach Luke Walton. The Lakers winning some games isn't hurting his case for the award.
His counterpart Smith is currently playing overseas with Galatasaray Odeabank of the Turkish Basketball Super League and Euroleague.
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