Ever since the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020, they have failed to reinforce the roster with players via the NBA Draft who can contribute from the jump. Rob Pelinka and company have either found developmental projects, or flat-out missed on their selections.
Fansided's Christopher Kline had the Lakers taking that route again. Kline featured Chris Cenac Jr. mocked to Los Angeles with the 24th overall pick in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft.
Cenac is definitely an intriguing prospect, there is no doubt about that. However, the Houston big man is quite raw. Thus far, Cenac is averaging 9.3 points and 7.4 rebounds, while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc.
For Cenac to have an impact during his rookie season in Los Angeles, Luka Doncic would be tasked with immediately bringing the most out of him. That's not a terrible gamble. It's just a frustrating continuation of a pattern the Lakers have been happy to lean into.
Chris Cenac Jr. would continue the Lakers' habit of favoring upside over immediate impact
In 2020, the Lakers missed on an opportunity to bring Jaden McDaniels into the mix. The former first-round pick immediately gave the Minnesota Timberwolves 24.0 strong minutes in his rookie season.
2021 did not have a first-rounder joining the Lakers, as their pick had Isaiah Jackson going to the Indiana Pacers. However, Los Angeles did get the silver lining of the century once that year's NBA Draft was over.
After going undrafted, Austin Reaves joined the Lakers. That is a developmental project that has paid off tremendously for Los Angeles.
The Lakers had no first-round pick in 2022 either, but they did get Max Christie in the second round. After a couple of quiet seasons, the Lakers wing established himself as a quality role player before getting shipped out of town in the Doncic trade.
2023? The Lakers selected Jalen Hood-Schifino. Yikes. The less said, the better.
2024 did feature an attempt at getting an immediate contributor. After initial signs of promise, Dalton Knecht has failed to live up to the hype in Los Angeles.
The 2025 NBA Draft saw the Lakers aggressively move up to grab Adou Thiero. The rookie wing has seldomly seen the court this season, and is, once again, viewed as more of a long-term developmental player.
Some of the choices ended up working out for the Lakers. It just feels strange that a team who has been consistently in win-now mode has failed to add a day one contributor during that entire stretch. Cenac could prove to be more of the same in that regard.
It's not like the Lakers bench rotation has been so good that it has been impenetrable either. The windows of opportunity have been there. The draft tendencies have just not favored giving their short-term goals a jolt.