The Los Angeles Lakers were “very impressed” with North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and have been reportedly “hopeful” to bring in University of Washington standout Markelle Fultz for a workout this week, per Adam Zagorida of ZagsBlog.
The purple-and-gold have been heavily linked to lottery prospect Lonzo Ball, but are still exploring their options, as they could trade down and select another player from one of the most talent-rich freshman classes in recent memory.
“They have some decisions to make,” the source told ZagsBlog.
Smith averaged 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.6 rebounds this season as a Wolfpack freshman, and has already met last week with the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic, per FanRagSports.com. The 6-foot-3 floor general is slated to have his pro day on June 15 at N.C. State.
The 19-year-old said he was impressed by meeting Hall of Famer and team president Magic Johnson and could learn a lot from him.
“I think I could learn a ton from him,” Smith said. “He had the one of the greatest minds to ever play, if not the greatest. And there’s a lot I could learn from him and I would love to have the opportunity.”
Smith has drawn plenty of praise through each of his workouts due to his athleticism and raw scoring talent that has left scouts and executives nodding their heads during his visits.
“With Dennis you’re getting a young man that prior to his MCL injury a couple years ago, was considered in the same class as Ball and Markelle Fultz and this year was somewhat hidden in plain sight on a bad team,” ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said on The 4 Quarters Podcast. “Quite frankly, I thought Dennis’ production dropped of at the end of the year, as did N.C. State’s record, causing them to fire their coach.”
“I think in Dennis you’re talking about an alpha dog, a Kyle Lowry type, a guy with a chip on his shoulder, an athlete who can get to the basket. He had four games of 10 assists or more. You don’t this about guards very often, but he’s raw. He’s going to need to be coddled and coached in an NBA game but the athleticism, the strength and the ability to get to the basket is there.”
Smith is projected to land in the top-10 of this year's draft class, while the Lakers are hopeful to secure a meeting with Fultz, who's slated to be the top pick come draft time.
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