Lakers News: Expert Envisions Lengthy G-League Stints for LA's 2023 Draft Picks

Could either one of them crack the rotation this season?

The Los Angeles Lakers held two draft picks entering the 2023 NBA Draft. Nobody knew if the team would actually select prospects or if the team would move the picks in a trade for an established player. LA ultimately decided to use both and took guard Jalen Hood-Schifino from the University of Indiana and Maxwell Lewis from Pepperdine University.

The team was praised for their picks and fans were eager to watch both perform in the NBA summer league. Both had some ups and downs throughout the summer, leaving some questions with both.

Hood-Schifino had more positive moments than Lewis and could end up getting some rotation minutes. He showed that he could run an offense effectively but that his jump shot was still a work in progress. But he also showed that he has the ability to finish at the rim, something many people were looking to see as the games got started.

However, one NBA writer believes that he may not be fully ready for the NBA. John Hollinger of The Athletic gave his thoughts on the Lakers first rounder.

"Hood-Schifino is big and can handle the ball, and maybe the adjustment is just figuring out how to navigate to more fruitful spots on the floor, but the 17th pick in the draft seems like he’ll need a lot of time in South Bay before he can help the varsity."

Per The Athletic

Hood-Schifino will need to improve his jump shot if he wants to be productive in the league. But like others with LA, the team isn’t overly concerned, and they believe it will eventually start falling.

As for Lewis, he didn’t look overly great during the games. He looked timid most of the time and uncomfortable out there. That could change as he gets more experience, but he likely will be assigned to the G-League to start.

Hollinger also doesn’t believe that Lewis is NBA-ready, even more so than Hood-Schifino.

"Ditto for Maxwell Lewis, the 40th pick out of Pepperdine who has prototype small forward size and leaping ability but struggled to put that together in seven summer-league games. He only made two of his 14 3-point attempts, which we’ll write off as small-sample variance (he shot fine in college); of more pressing concern is the limited impact he made in other facets.”

Per The Athletic

Now for both of these players, it was a small sample size. The Lakers obviously believe in them to have selected them with a draft pick so everyone can just take a breath. The scouting department has earned the benefit of the doubt with their recent picks so things should work out.

LA doesn’t need either of these players to make an immediate impact this coming season which gives them flexibility on how they want to use them going forward here.

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