Over the past few years, the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t selected too many projects in the NBA Draft. However, Isaac Bonga fits that description.
Over the past few years, the Los Angeles Lakers have done a very nice job finding talent in the NBA Draft. While they have had a few top picks, like D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball, they have also been able to find players that can contribute outside of the lottery.
Taking players like Larry Nance Jr., Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart toward the end of the first round has helped the Lakers rebuild after some tough years. Like in any sport, finding talent that can contribute rather quickly helps a franchise immensely.
Jesse Buss and the scouting department for the Lakers has done a very good job of identifying this talent for the team, and their picks have been working out. This year, the Lakers selected Moritz Wagner and Svi Mykhailiuk, who both appear to be ready to play in the NBA rather quickly and fit the mold of what the Lakers are doing. However, the really surprising pick was Isaac Bonga.
Recently, Jesse Buss talked with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com about the draft and the reasoning behind the Bonga pick. Here’s what he had to say.
"“It’s very difficult to have three picks, and draft players that you expect to contribute right away. Sometimes you have to diversify a little, and knowing that we drafted Moe and really liked Svi, we couldn’t bring multiple players in that needed minutes right away. We wanted to take a player that we felt has a good long-term upside for the team. You have to look at the rest of your roster, and see if you have a spot where you can develop someone over the next few years. The job that coach Walton and his staff have done with our young players gives me a lot of confidence that they can really help Bonga develop into a player.”"
While many thought that Bonga would be staying overseas, he was surprisingly with the team for the Las Vegas Summer League. Even though we didn’t get to see much from him, we saw the physical tools that the Lakers’ scouting department are surely impressed with.
Bonga wasn’t much of a factor on the court in Las Vegas, but it would have been unrealistic to expect him to be. As a young player, the Lakers appear like they will be grooming him with their G-League squad, which has helped a lot of young players.
The South Bay Lakers have been a very solid team in the G-League, and we have seen players from their help the Lakers, especially, Alex Caruso. While the Bonga pick might have been surprising, the Lakers feel confident that he will be able to develop into a good player for them in the future.