Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Reasons to draft Jalen Brunson
By Nick Ziegler
– Would provide the Lakers with a needed guard
One of the glaring weakness for the Lakers last season was their situation at backup point guard. Due to injuries for Lonzo Ball, the Lakers had to play Tyler Ennis and Alex Caruso a lot more than they would have liked. While Caruso was better than Ennis, either playing extended minutes didn’t work out well for the Lakers.
By selecting Brunson, the Lakers would be giving themselves a point guard that can run the second unit, and also provide a scoring spark off the bench. With the ability to shoot three-pointers, Brunson and Ball would also be able to play together like we saw briefly with Lonzo and Isaiah Thomas.
As a three-year starter at Villanova, Brunson should be able to step in right away in the rotation wherever he is drafted. For the Lakers, Brunson would be a noticeable upgrade for them at the backup point guard position, as it would be hard to imagine Ennis being back next season.
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Filling this need on the bench might be one of the most important things for the Lakers this offseason, as they have to have a capable backup for Ball. Also, Brunson would have the ability to be similar to what Jordan Clarkson was for the team, but just as more of a true point guard.