3 Sweet 16 prospects the Lakers could draft in the second round
By Jason Reed
While the Los Angeles Lakers are stumbling into the NBA Play-In Tournament the most exciting tournament on the sports calendar is underway: the NCAA Tournament. Sweet 16 games start on Thursday and there are plenty of prominent draft prospects on the national stage.
The Lakers do not have a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and they do not have a second-round pick, either, for that matter. However, as we have seen in the past, teams can often “buy” second-round picks with cash considerations or future second-round picks if a team does not like a prospect in the second round and has no roster spot for them.
With the team needing to fill a lot of holes this offseason, don’t be surprised if they try to buy their way into the second round, as they did to take Talen Horton-Tucker. The Lakers have multiple second-round picks in 2023 and they can flip one of those picks for a pick this year.
The Lakers certainly have an eye for talent, especially later in the NBA Draft. If there is someone they like in the second round and they can buy a pick then they should jump all over.
There are potential Sweet 16 prospects that the Lakers could take in the second round.
We still are pretty far from the 2022 NBA Draft and a lot can change with prospect rankings from now to June 23. As it stands right now, there are three potential second-round draft prospects in the Sweet 16 that could be of interest to the Lakers.