3 young stars the Lakers already regret passing on in the 2023 NBA Draft

Brandin Podziemski

Brandin Podziemski has been a revelation for the Golden State Warriors this season. While Klay Thompson regresses and Draymond Green gets suspended, the Warriors have gotten solid contributions from players like Podziemski to keep the season afloat.

Podziemski was selected with the 19th overall pick and he looked like a perfect fit for the Warriors right away. The entire intrigue around Podziemski was his three-point shooting as he was a marksman during his sophomore year with Santa Clara.

However, because Podziemski isn't the most athletic and didn't come from a prolific school, his draft value ultimately took a hit. That is what made him available late in the first round, to begin with and it should not have kept the Lakers from taking the three-point specialist.

Hindsight is always 20/20 but Podziemski is someone who we circled before the 2023 NBA Draft here at Lake Show Life. In fact, our "perfect" version of the 2023 draft that we published included the team taking him in the first round.

The Lakers obviously didn't go in that direction and have to watch the rookie shoot above 40% from three on 3.3 attempts per game for the Warriors. That would have been a great addition to a Lakers team that desperately needs three-point shooting.