2. Elfrid Payton
Elfrid Payton is not as recent of a lottery pick as the others on this list as he was taken with the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Payton was young when he was drafted so while he was drafted eight years ago, he will still only be 28 years old when the 2022-23 season begins.
Payton has not peaked athletically yet and you could still make the case that his best basketball is ahead of him on the right team. Granted, it has been so long that we can safely say he won’t live up to the expectations of the 10th overall pick. But there is still something there.
MUST-READ: The only way the Lakers are trading for Bradley Beal
Payton has bounced around a bit as he has played on four different teams in eight seasons. His most recent stop was with the Phoenix Suns, where he averaged just 11 minutes off the bench in 50 games played last season.
The biggest issue with Payton has always been his offensive limitations as he is not much of a jump-shooter and his ability to finish at the rim never really blossomed enough to make up for the lack of a jump shot. That offensive inability has masked a lot of defensive potential for Payton.
Payton posted a 1.2 Defensive Box Plus/Minus and with his size and wing span, there has always been a lot of potential there as a perimeter defender. After all, he has averaged 1.6 steals per 36 minutes throughout his NBA career.
The Lakers need defense and while Payton would be awful to play next to Russell Westbrook, he could be someone the Lakers play next to Malik Monk just so there is some kind of positive defensive impact in the backcourt.