{"id":17007,"date":"2026-06-22T18:31:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17007"},"modified":"2026-06-22T18:31:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:31:39","slug":"tuesdays-nba-draft-could-signal-new-direction-for-lakers-in-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17007","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday\u2019s NBA draft could signal new direction for Lakers in offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LOS ANGELES \u2014 Tony Bennett has been around the block when it comes to the NBA draft.<\/p>\n

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Thirteen of his former players, from his 18 seasons coaching college basketball at Washington State and Virginia, have been selected on draft night. Six of whom landed as first-round draft picks \u2013 most notably, the Golden State Warriors drafting Klay Thompson in 2011.<\/p>\n

When the Lakers select 25th overall in the first round on Tuesday night at the 2026 NBA Draft, Bennett\u2019s influence on the franchise\u2019s pick will be evident after joining the organization in February as a draft advisor under Rob Pelinka in the front office \u2013 a division of the franchise that continues to shift following the ownership transition from the Buss family to Mark Walter last year.<\/p>\n

The Lakers are widely expected to target a frontcourt option or a wing, but their ultimate choice will come down to who remains on the board in Brooklyn when commissioner Adam Silver announces that the Lakers are on the clock. The uncertainty of who may be available is where Bennett\u2019s eye, and voice, could make a difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think where Tony comes into play, not just with the draft, is having coached a lot of these players that are in the NBA right now,\u201d said ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks. \u201cI do think there\u2019s some strength to that from the scouting standpoint. From where they\u2019re picking, certainly in the 20s, I think there\u2019s more value because you\u2019re trying to look for an under-the-radar type player.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the Lakers\u2019 end-of-season press conference back in May, Pelinka highlighted Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell as proof that identification and development can make a difference even with lower picks in the draft. Mitchell, who was a second-round selection in the 2024 NBA Draft out of UC Santa Barbara, was prominent in sending the Lakers packing in the second round in a series sweep.<\/p>\n

Where the Lakers could make headway when preparing for the season ahead \u2013 with decisions on Austin Reaves and LeBron James, among others, still to come \u2013 is by striking on the edges of the organization to help bolster depth to match up against Western Conference favorites, the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think depth is really important, athleticism and youth,\u201d Pelinka said May 12. \u201cWe have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Pelinka added later during that May press conference: \u201cWe have to continue to find young talent and develop them in terms of the resources that Jeanie (Buss) and Mark (Walter) are providing for us, that\u2019s an area that they really want us to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks said the beauty of ownership transition is the expansion of resources and personnel in the room for the Lakers.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSixty million or $50 million in cap space is not as appealing as it maybe was in 2010,\u201d Marks said. \u201cI think that\u2019s where, whether it be from analytics or from scouting, the ability to fit pieces into the puzzle with that amount of money is where you\u2019ll probably see more value than in the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jerry Hairston Jr., a television analyst for Spectrum SportsNet LA\u2019s baseball coverage, was amid his first of two seasons with the Dodgers in 2012 when Guggenheim Baseball Management \u2013 where Walter serves as controlling partner \u2013 purchased the franchise for a then-record $2.15 billion from Frank McCourt.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Hairston said that over the last decade-plus of being involved with the Dodgers, whether as a player or an on-screen personality, he\u2019s watched as the team has evolved, conducting its due diligence from scouting, analytics, player development, marketing and more to ensure no stone is unturned in baseball and business.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers have spent a lot of money to bring in top players, Hairston said, but the team\u2019s success has also come from building a foundation through the amateur draft, despite drafting at the end of the first round more often than not.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to use that type of knowledge from the whole landscape of the baseball world to the basketball world, and make sure they put their best foot forward,\u201d Hairston said of the Lakers, where Dodgers special advisor Farhan Zaidi and President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman have provided insights since the ownership transition.<\/p>\n

When it comes to who the Lakers could select, ESPN draft analyst Jeremy Woo highlighted Connecticut big man Tarris Reed Jr. and North Carolina center Henri Veesaar as possibilities \u2013 adding a more-experienced background, close-to-NBA-ready skillset to the Lakers\u2019 frontcourt depth. Reed shares an agency with Jake LaRavia and Austin Reaves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m guessing that\u2019ll be kind of a best (player) available thing for them,\u201d Woo said last week. \u201cI think a lot of the teams in the 20s right now are trying to figure out who\u2019s going to be there. I think 25 is right around where the talent pool kind of drops into that next tier of guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post options could include Houston\u2019s Chris Cenac Jr. or Kentucky\u2019s Jayden Quaintance if they are available. Cenac is widely seen as a development prospect, while Quaintance is recovering from lingering knee injuries suffered at Arizona State more than a year ago.<\/p>\n

If drafting a wing is preferred, mock drafts around the league have pointed to Texas guard Dailyn Swain and Duke guard Isaiah Evans as potential selections should the Lakers shift away from the frontcourt.<\/p>\n

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When the Lakers select 25th in the 2026 NBA draft, new voices in the organization could play a factor into who becomes the latest first-round pick for the purple and gold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTuesday\u2019s NBA draft could signal new direction for Lakers in offseason - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17007\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tuesday\u2019s NBA draft could signal new direction for Lakers in offseason - 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