– Mitchell Robinson
Another player who would have been a solid choice by the Lakers would have been Mitchell Robinson. When it became clear that the Lakers were looking for a big man to replace Brook Lopez at the end of the season, they were linked to Robinson.
Robinson bypassed going to college, which might have hurt his draft stock. He ended up falling into the 2nd round, and the New York Knicks got a pretty solid player. In his rookie season, Robinson averaged 7.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. As a long and athletic big man with a lot of talent on the defensive end, many have compared his style of play to that of DeAndre Jordan. Also, it helped Robinson’s development to play a half of the season with Jordan as a teammate.
This season, Robinson is playing well once again. He is averaging 9.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0. Unfortunately for Robinson, the Knicks are one of the worst franchises in the NBA. Despite playing well, minutes haven’t always been as consistent as they should be.
If the Lakers had Robinson, he would have filled in the role of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee nicely. While Robinson and Wagner are very different players, Robinson has been the more effective so far in his career.