The Los Angeles Lakers have set a standard for player development that's equal in its promise to its disappointment. No team has been better at finding diamonds in the rough, with undrafted free agents all but routinely becoming quality rotation players in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, on the night of the actual NBA Draft, the Lakers have consistently struck out—a trend that has sadly continued into 2024-25.
Los Angeles won a championship in 2019-20 with Alex Caruso playing a key role off the bench, and reached the 2022-23 Western Conference Finals with Austin Reaves in the starting lineup. Both players were undrafted, and 2024-25 preseason star Quincy Olivari could continue that string of success.
During that same five-year period, however, the Lakers have routinely failed to turn draft picks into anything of consequence.
Some slack can be given to Rob Pelinka, as he gave up three future first-round draft picks in the trade that brought Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. Between the first and second rounds of the drafts during which the Lakers had picks available to them, however, the results have been staggeringly poor.
That has unfortunately come to a head with the revelation that the Lakers declined the 2025-26 player option for 2023 first-round draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino.
The Los Angeles Lakers are declining guard Jalen Hood-Schifino’s third-year team option worth $4 million for 2025-26, sources tell ESPN. This makes the 21-year-old, 6-foot-5 guard an unrestricted free agent in offseason and creates roster flexibility for Lakers. pic.twitter.com/lwKGwVTg6w
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 31, 2024
In turn, the Lakers have all but confirmed that they not only wasted a draft pick in 2023, but could take as many as two full seasons of proper development away from Hood-Schifino.
The Lakers never gave Jalen Hood-Schifino a chance
Hood-Schifino had a difficult rookie season that included a back injury that ultimately required surgery. Even when he was healthy, however, the team's endless list of injuries wasn't enough to convince former head coach Darvin Ham to give the former Indiana Hoosiers star a chance.
Hood-Schifino appeared in just 21 games for the Lakers, averaging a mere 5.2 minutes per contest during that time.
Considering Gabe Vincent missed 71 games, Cam Reddish was out for 34, and Spencer Dinwiddie was only present for 28, that's a baffling truth. Even if Hood-Schifino wasn't destined to become a key contributor, not even giving him a chance when there were no discernably better options was a disservice to his development.
That's made even more unforgivable by the fact that he thrived in the G League, posting 22.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.3 three-point field goals made per game on .473/.432/.800 shooting.
Performing well in the G League may not guarantee success in the NBA, but Hood-Schifino is talented enough to get onto the court in some capacity. He didn't just play well at the developmental level—he was considerably better than almost everyone on the court at any given moment.
To see that and not at least give a rookie with that degree of talent a chance to play spot minutes after injuries ravaged the second unit is tantamount to sabotaging his future.
Perhaps this is an extreme reaction, but drafting a player with zero follow-through on helping them get up to speed in real-game situations is simply poor management. It's certainly possible that Hood-Schifino will play under JJ Redick and even earn a new contract with the Lakers, but that could thus require the team to pay him more than they would've been on the hook for had they accepted his option.
If the goal isn't to give him a genuine and honest opportunity to secure a future with the Lakers, then the front office must do right by Hood-Schifino and trade him as soon as possible.