– Good Value
When it comes to drafting players in the second round, teams are generally looking for players that they think can one day be rotation players off the bench. While it is not always the case, second-round picks are generally not stars in the NBA. However, getting a player that has a certain skill set that can provide help in an area is certainly a goal of the team selecting him.
In addition to finding players that might be able to help right away, a lot of times team take flyers on players that they think can have starter potential. Drafting players that might have underachieved in college or had injury issues can pay off for a team.
For Horton-Tucker, he is likely more on the side of the Lakers drafting him thinking about the future. As a very young man, there is a lot of things Horton-Tucker will have to improve upon before he is ready for a significant role with the Lakers.
However, it does look like the Lakers made a pretty solid value pick here. Some scouts had Horton-Tucker as either a late first round or early second round pick. Getting him at 46th indicates that the Lakers got a bit of a steal with him. Now, it will be important for the Lakers to develop him. With a lot of positive attributes, Horton-Tucker was a solid pick by the Lakers.