Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons why they will surprise the league

3. They drafted well again

It is still very early to tell, but after seeing the Lakers draft picks in Summer League, it looks like they nailed another draft with what they had to work with. Drafting at the end of round one and in the second round has been the Lakers specialty the past couple of seasons and this year was no different.

The Lakers number one need based on position was center, and they seemed to have found at least a rotational piece with their first-round draft choice. The Lakers chose Moritz Wagner with the 25th pick and he looks like he can be a steal and step in and contribute right away for the Lakers in year one.

He has solid experience playing three years in college and developed into a star his junior season carrying Michigan all the way to the national title game. He is slightly below average size for a center, but during summer league he looked active on the glass and was defending centers that were bigger than him. It looks like the Lakers are going to rely on him to be their stretch big man because they elected to not re-sign Brook Lopez in free agency.

They had two other selections in the NBA draft as well, but they both were in the second round. With the 39th pick, they took Isaac Bonga. With the 47th pick, they selected Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.

Ironically their later pick Mykhailuk was the one that looked the most NBA ready in the Las Vegas tournament for the Lakers and he took home second-team All-Summer League honors because of it.

Mykhailuk looked very good on the offensive end, shooting threes at a spectacular percentage and also showed better ball handling and playmaking ability than was expected. Since the Lakers roster lacks shooters, he could easily find himself breaking into the lineup next season.

Having rookies that can come in and contribute positively, will allow the Lakers to have one of the deepest rotations in the league.