Los Angeles Lakers select Aaron Holiday in latest mock draft

With the No. 23 pick in the most recent NBA Mock Draft at ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers select UCLA point guard, Aaron Holiday.

The Los Angeles Lakers have shown great improvement this season. They look to be on the right track, as their young core is beginning to develop and produce. The Lakers will look to add to that young core once again this offseason.

Coming into the season, the Lakers didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Their selection will be sent over to the Philadelphia 76ers or Boston Celtics as a stipulation from the Steve Nash trade in 2012. As if that trade wasn’t bad enough, the Lakers are still paying for it.

While they do not own their own first-round selection, the Lakers did manage to get into the first round. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka pulled off a big trade at the NBA Trade Deadline with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the trade, the Lakers landed the Cavaliers’ 2018 first round pick along with Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye. In exchange, Los Angeles sent Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. to Cleveland.

It was a shrewd move by Los Angeles’ front office. Not only did they open up more cap space, they landed a first-round pick. While the Cavaliers should make the postseason, leaving the pick outside of the lottery, the Lakers have done well with late first rounders.

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Take a look at the current roster. Kyle Kuzma was selected 27th overall in 2017, while Josh Hart was selected 30th. Nance Jr. was No. 27 in 2015. Clarkson was No. 46 in 2014. Los Angeles has had success picking late in the first round and will look to strike gold again in 2018.

Right now, the Cavaliers’ pick is projected to be No. 23 in the 2018 NBA Draft. That projection is based on ESPN’s BPI and adjusted for the needs of each NBA.

In the latest mock draft, the Lakers select UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday. Here is what they had to say about Holiday being mocked to the Lakers.

"Even with Lonzo Ball in place, the Lakers should be looking to solidify their backcourt rotation and add more shooting, ballhandling, defensive intensity and athleticism. Ball’s size gives him the ability to operate alongside another combo guard, and it would be beneficial for him to have scoring to take the pressure off.Holiday has broken through in a major way, and he would bring a number of attractive traits with his microwave scoring ability, long wingspan and toughness.Starting salary: $1,895,520"

Lonzo Ball played with Holiday last season at UCLA. Holiday started 32 games as a freshman before Ball arrived, which moved him to the bench. This season, his third with the Bruins, Holiday really took off.

With Ball and Bryce Alford no longer in the backcourt, Holiday took over as the go-to player. He averaged 20.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He scored efficiently, shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from the 3-point line and 82.8 percent from the foul line.

If there is one issue with Holiday, it is his ball security. He turned the ball over 3.8 times per game and struggled mightily against the pressure of St. Bonaventure in the NCAA Tournament play-in game last week, turning the ball over 10 times.

Just like at UCLA, Holiday and Ball would be a solid pairing in the backcourt. Given their size and skill sets, they play well off of each other. With Isaiah Thomas and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope both heading into unrestricted free agency this summer, the Lakers could be looking to add to their backcourt depth this offseason.

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Holiday has good bloodlines as well. His older brothers, Jrue Holiday and Justin Holiday, are both currently in the NBA. Jrue plays with the New Orleans Pelicans, while Justin plays with the Chicago Bulls.