Lakers Debated Intriguing Draft Option at No. 17, Opted for 'Surer Bet’, per Report

The Los Angeles Lakers contemplated making a splashy move in the 2023 NBA draft before opting to play it safe.

The Los Angeles Lakers could have made a splash during the 2023 NBA draft if they really wanted to. And they wouldn’t have even needed to pick up the phone and negotiate a potential trade because the possible high-upside, “splashy” option at No. 17 was on the board in Villanova’s Cam Whitmore.

While the Lakers’ selection of Jalen Hood-Schifino should offer plenty of long-term upside, it’s likely Whitmore could make a bigger impact right out of the gate in the NBA. And as The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reported, the Lakers considered Whitmore but decided Hood-Schifino was a “surer bet.”

This comes on the heels of Deseret News’s Sarah Todd reporting that five different teams were concerned about "character issues" with Whitmore.

The takeaway of a potential Whitmore vs. Hood-Schifino internal decision for the Lakers has less to do with the two players but more to do with a mixture of planning for the now while balancing the team's future. LeBron James still hasn't confirmed he's not retiring, but as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported, he believes we’ll see the future Hall of Famer return for the 2023-24 season.

The Lakers drafting Whitmore over Hood-Schifino would have ended a draft-night slide that eventually ended with the former-projected lottery pick coming off the board at No. 20 to the Houston Rockets. But as Buha framed it, the Lakers are "toeing the delicate line" of current championship aspirations with the "reality that their window may only be a year or two."

And by going with Hood-Schifino over Whitmore, it's apparent that it's not lost on Rob Pelinka that he needs to begin planning for the post-LeBron era also.