Los Angeles Lakers land Robert Williams in 2018 first round redraft

In a re-draft of the 2018 NBA Draft’s first round, the Los Angeles Lakers changed their selection from Moritz Wagner.

The Los Angeles Lakers will have yet another lottery selection in the 2019 NBA Draft. They will have an unexpected opportunity to add yet another young building block to their already impressive core of young players.

While the Lakers haven’t performed great on the court, they have done well during the draft. Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle were all selected in the lottery. Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. were all selected later on or acquired via trade.

That is an impressive track record since 2014. The one glaring omission from those selections, which was self-inflicted in some ways, is a center.

Zubac was coming along nicely this season before he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, along with Michael Beasley, for Mike Muscala. Randle showed he was capable of handling the small-ball center role but was allowed to leave as a free agent in 2018.

Without a building block in the middle, the Lakers looked to the 2018 NBA Draft to fill that hole. With the No. 25 overall selection, the Lakers selected Michigan center, Moritz Wagner.

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During his time with the Wolverines, Wagner showcased some good abilities offensively. He could stretch the floor out beyond the 3-point line and had a litany of moves in the post. Wagner could also function as a playmaker from the high post.

Where Wagner struggled was on defense. His slow-moving feet would leave him exposed in pick-and-roll situations in college, sometimes getting him into foul trouble. He also provided very little as a rim protector.

However, given his offensive skill set, he could have carved out a role with the Lakers to help replace Brook Lopez, who has become one of the best stretch-5s in the NBA. Unfortunately, Wagner was never really given that chance.

In free agency, the Lakers signed JaVale McGee to be their starting center as part of the wave of signings following the acquisition of LeBron James. Wagner’s development was put on the backburner as the team went into win-now mode.

As a result, the higher ceiling Wagner was on the bench most of the season. Los Angeles’ defense was poor throughout, with the center spot being one of the glaring weaknesses. That is in part why in Bleacher Report’s re-draft of the 2018 first round, the Lakers selection was changed.

Instead of taking Wagner, the Lakers selected Texas A&M center, Robert Williams. In the actual draft, Williams went two picks after Wagner to the Boston Celtics. The real miss for both teams was Mitchell Robinson, who went No. 36 overall to the New York Knicks, but was selected No. 8 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the re-draft.

Williams didn’t receive many opportunities in Boston, but his skill set would have helped get him on the court with the Lakers. He would have brought rim protection to the table along with an ability to get easy buckets around the rim based on his athleticism.

Williams may not have the offensive ceiling that Wagner has, but the re-draft makes sense. Given what we know about the Lakers currently, another defensive-minded big man would have helped the team.

Wagner was not selected in the first round of the re-draft. Had he not been a Michigan Wolverine, Rob Pelinka’s alma mater, there is a chance he wouldn’t have been a first-round selection on draft night in 2018 either.