Watching Cameron Carr's draft-day slide was a nerve-wrecking experience. After the Baylor Bear seemingly took himself out of the Los Angeles Lakers' range with a strong NBA Draft combine, here he was falling closer and closer to a position where Rob Pelinka could land him. It happened.
The Lakers ended Carr's slippage down the ranks at pick 24 after swapping selections with the New York Knicks. Why would they not? The Baylor wing represented everything they should have been looking for in their focused effort to remold the roster around Luka Doncic.
Carr is lengthy and athletic, showed major growth as a shooter in 2025-26, and has the tools to become a plus on the defensive end. When it comes to what a wing around Doncic should look like, this is close to what you could build in a lab.
Cameron Carr checks all the boxes of a wing playing with Luka Doncic
Carr is an impressive athlete. The hype around his measurables and drills created a belief that he could be gone at the back end of the lottery in the 2026 NBA Draft. Lighting it up in scrimmages certainly did not hurt the excitement around him either.
Boxscore from Game 2 of the NBA draft combine.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 13, 2026
Big outing from Baylor's Cam Carr dropping 30 points on 6/12 for 3.
Tennessee's Ja'Kobi Gillespie chipped in 28 points and 5 assists.
Wisconsin's Nick Boyd with 23 points, 8 assists.
20 points for Kentucky's Otega Oweh pic.twitter.com/ERLZBb9bfH
All that ultimately did not prove to be enough in a draft class as deep as 2026. The Lakers should feel fortunate. If Carr is moving well without the ball, Doncic is sure to find him and position the athletic wing to finish opportunities at the basket.
The standout season as a 3-point shooter at Baylor also lends itself well to playing with Luka. Carr shot 37.4 percent from beyond the arc on 6.1 attempts per game in 2025-26. Rounding out his game with a jumper makes him an easy plug and play for the Lakers from day one.
Adding to the excitement around his selection is the defensive upside. Some are divided over the immediacy of how quickly Carr can be impactful on that end. However, it is tough to deny all the tools are there for him.
To go with his athleticism, Carr is incredibly lengthy. His wingspan measured in at just under 7-foot-1. That should calm the concerns about him being a touch small for a wing at 6-foot-5.
With the right coaching and development, the Lakers can put Carr in a position to maximize his natural ability on the defensive end. Coupling that with his ready-made offense makes him oh so perfect as a two-way wing beside Doncic.
There should be massive comfort found in this being the first major step of the retool around Luka this offseason. Carr's fit should not be undersold in its quality. Hopefully the next steps from the Lakers are just as good moving forward.
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