The NBA draft lottery was a very nerve-racking event for the Los Angeles Lakers organization and their fans. They needed to receive a top-3 pick to hold onto their selection, and they rejoiced when their logo came up at second overall.
Just keeping the pick was crucial towards the Lakers' continued rebuilding process going into next season, even if they end up trading it.
If they do hold onto the pick, just about everybody thinks they'll draft whoever the Philadelphia 76ers don't select between Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram.
That might not be as much of a formality as we've been told.
The Lakers surprised some analysts by selecting D'Angelo Russell over Jahlil Okafor last year, but most reports indicate that it's a two-player race at the top with Ingram and Simmons going into this draft.
But Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak doesn't believe there's that big of a drop-off. From David Aldridge:
“I’m not sure there’s as dramatic a cliff as people think between two and three. Any way you look at it, we feel we’ll get an excellent player at two.”
So, what other player could the Lakers be interested in to possibly surpass Ingram or Simmons on their draft board? According to Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, 7’1” European prospect Dragan Bender is the guy to look out for.
Lane cites Bender's ability to both protect the rim and shoot from the outside, which are both weaknesses for Julius Randle. If they want a modern big man with a shooting touch from deep, they don't have to look further.
Draft experts Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton have him as the second best player available, according to their analytics:
“I think there’s a case to be made that even No. 4 is too low for Bender…..Bender’s consensus projection is for 3.5 WARP — second in this year’s draft behind Ben Simmons. Nobody else is above 3.0, with Brandon Ingram at 2.9. Murray (2.6) and Dunn (2.3) are far below Bender.”
Bender has drawn interesting comparisons to Kristaps Porzingis, another skilled Eurpean big man who has proven to be a smart choice for the New York Knicks at fourth overall last year.
Nobody expected the Lakers to take Porzingis with the second pick, but if they could go back and change their selection now, it would be interesting to see if they'd stay with Russell.
Kupchak's doing his due diligence this time, traveling to Israel this past March to scout Bender. Going against convention isn't something the Lakers are afraid of, so don't be completely shocked if Dragan is donning the Purple & Gold this coming season.
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