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2 players from National Championship that the Lakers could draft

By Jason Reed

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 03: Jared Butler #12 of the Baylor Bears drives to the basket against Justin Gorham #4 of the Houston Cougars in the first half during the 2021 NCAA Final Four semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 03, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 03: Jared Butler #12 of the Baylor Bears drives to the basket against Justin Gorham #4 of the Houston Cougars in the first half during the 2021 NCAA Final Four semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 03, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

Baylor prospect to watch: Jared Butler, point guard

  • Tankathon Ranking: 16th 
  • ESPN Ranking: 26th

Tankathon has Jared Butler going right after the lottery while ESPN has him going right in the Los Angeles Lakers’ range. He may have to fall a bit to get to the Lakers, especially with a strong showing in the tournament, but it certainly is possible that he is on the board for the Lakers.

Point guard is a potential position to target for the Lakers as well as there is so much in the air at the position. Both Dennis Schroder and Alex Caruso are free agents this offseason. Schroder already rejected a four-year, $84 million extension and Caruso is an elite defender, not so much a traditional offensive point guard.

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The need for the position is smaller with LeBron James essentially being a point guard but it would not be a bad thing to draft the position and try and develop the position. Butler is not going to be a big difference-maker early on. However, the Lakers are elite in developing late first-round draft picks.

Butler is averaging 16.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. He is also a great three-point shooter, as he is shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc in 6.1 attempts per game.

Butler is not a great defensive player and he is a bit undersized to play shooting guard but he does have a combo guard skillset. The best-case scenario for Butler is that he becomes a better shooting version of Avery Bradley, which the Los Angeles Lakers would certainly take.

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