Following his workout with the Los Angeles Lakers, USC forward Chimezie Metu spoke highly of Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma.
The Los Angeles Lakers have had a number of prospects at the UCLA Health Center during the pre-draft process. The Lakers are doing their due diligence as they have two selections in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Los Angeles will be on the clock with the No. 25 and No. 47 overall picks. One of the players that could hear his name called with one of those selections is USC forward, Chimezie Metu.
Metu is a local product as he grew up only 10 minutes away from the Lakers homecourt in Lawndale, California. Metu was the headliner of his group, as he worked out alongside Cody Martin, DJ Hogg, Shake Milton, Allonzo Trier and Lindell Wigginton.
After the workout, Metu talked about how special it was for him as he was a Lakers fan growing up. He said it was a dream come true just to be inside the Lakers facility working out. Imagine how excited he would be if the Lakers call his name on draft night.
After the workout, Metu also spoke about the presence that Magic Johnson had there despite not saying much. When you are around the Lakers facilities, you are bound to run into some legends. Johnson is at the games with Rob Pelinka. James Worthy works on the television broadcasts.
There aren’t many more storied franchises than the Lakers. While the Lakers have fallen on tough times in recent seasons, they have a young core that many people are excited about. Johnson and Pelinka are hoping that young core can help get the franchise back on track.
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Metu is well aware of the talent on the Lakers current roster. He played against two of the Lakers first round picks last season. Lonzo Ball played at UCLA and Kyle Kuzma played at Utah. Both schools are in the PAC-12, where Metu played as well.
Metu spoke very highly of both players after his workout.
"“Those were two really good players,” he said. “Lonzo he changed the game so much. My freshman year he wasn’t on the (UCLA) team and they were completely different. Second year, he was there, completely different. Last year he wasn’t there, completely different again. He changes the game in such a dynamic way where he doesn’t have to score, he doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands to make a difference."
That impact that Metu described is exactly what Ball brought to the Lakers. Despite his shooting woes during his rookie season, Ball still impacted the game positively. He averaged 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game, also playing above average defense.
In the season before Lonzo arrived at Pauley Pavilion and the season after, the Bruins went 36-29. In his lone season at UCLA, Ball helped lead the team to a 31-5 record.
While Kuzma didn’t have the same impact as Ball did at the collegiate level, he burst onto the scene with the Lakers. Metu spoke highly of him as well.
"“And then Kuz, he’s gotten so much better since I played him. He was more of a slasher, now he’s doing stuff off the dribble.”"
Kuzma was a handful for opponents from Day 1. Whether it was the Las Vegas Summer League, preseason games or regular season games, Kuzma was scoring the ball. He tied for the team lead, along with Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram, with 16.1 points per game.
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The Lakers are hoping to add to their young core that includes Ball and Kuzma in the 2018 NBA Draft. Could Metu be the next addition? We will have to wait and find out come June 21st!