5. Trevon Duval
Trevon Duval entered his freshman season at Duke as one of the top recruits in the country. He was a consensus five-star prospect his senior year of high school in 2017 and that should speak to his potential as a player moving forward.
However, at Duke, he did not have the initial success that most Blue Devil fans expected from him. He had to compete with all the other top prospects on the Duke roster for shots and the spotlight and that negatively affected his numbers. The other freshman Wendell Carter Jr. and Marvin Bagley were the main reason why Duke was one of the best teams in the country last season.
On the other hand, Duval had averages of 10.3 points and 5.6 assists per game. These are solid numbers for a freshman but are not what he was expected to produce as the number six prospect going into the season.
That performance could cause him to slip into the later portion of round one, and the Lakers should consider picking him for his upside if that happens. At this time last season he would have been considered a sure-fire lottery pick in this class, so he could be worth the risk when the Lakers are selecting at pick 25.
The biggest reason why he would be a good fit for the Lakers is that of his potential as a defender. He is only 6’3″ but he has a wingspan that is almost 7’0″ and that helps him to get into passing lanes and lock guys down on the wing. His length coupled with his elite athleticism could allow him to be a versatile combo guard, which would make him a good fit with the Lakers.