3 dream prospects the Lakers could have drafted with the eighth pick

3. AJ Griffin

There are a few wings in the middle of the lottery that could be enticing to the Los Angeles Lakers if they had the pick. Of those wings, AJ Griffin is perhaps the most exciting and he is someone who should certainly be on the board with the eighth overall pick. Griffin ranks ninth on Rookie Scale’s NBA Draft Consensus Big Board.

Griffin is exciting for reasons that are completely different than Daniels. Griffin is not this incredible playmaker that also thrives on the defensive end, he is a wing with a lethal three-point shot that would instantly be an off-ball threat in the league.

Shooters are always needed next to LeBron James and Griffin would come in nicely as a role player that could benefit from the playmaking ability of both LeBron and Russell Westbrook. While he is destined to regress in the pros, his 48.3% three-point rate in college is very enticing.

Griffin is more than just an off-ball shooter, though, as he is someone who could create his own shot from anywhere on the floor. There is a lot of potential for him as an offensive piece and I don’t think it is absurd to say that his ceiling is that of a second scoring option on a contending team.

That being said, he is raw defensively and is going to have to improve on that side of the court. He has the size and frame to be good on the defensive end and he did not show a lack of effort, he just needs NBA coaching on that side of the ball.