He the Los Angeles Lakers He raised eyebrows with the news that the UConn men’s basketball coach is being pursued. and hurley for his head coaching job. If he ends up taking the job, it seems likely that the Lakers would prefer to keep their draft picks and develop young players rather than trading them for a star.
Purdue’s Zach Edey is one of the most interesting players in the draft. The 7-foot-4 center was the National College Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons and led the NCAA in scoring in 2024. The Lakers could use a little more size to help ease the load on the center. Anthony Davis. According to a column dated June 7, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woothe Lakers have plans to visit Edey.
Los Angeles is doing their due diligence on many prospects, so there’s no guarantee they plan to draft Edey. However, they are at least mildly interested if they meet with him. If Hurley accepts the Lakers’ job, it’s easy to see that they will be more interested in Edey due to the fact that the coach has been able to watch the star big man up close over the past few years.
Zach Edey should be available for the Los Angeles Lakers
Edey is one of the most decorated players in this year’s draft class. Despite his litany of awards and successes in college basketball, there are some concerns about how his game will translate to the NBA.
Many mock drafts have him falling to the back half of the first round. A recent mock draft by Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman had Edey falling to No. 19. Why wouldn’t such a prolific player be expected to be a lottery pick?
FOX Sports’ Ric Bucher spoke with an Eastern Conference executive who gave some insights.
“He’s going to be a polarizing prospect in this draft,” the executive told Bucher during a April 9 column. “Teams that like him will point to his tremendous size and ability to score effectively at the line and consider him a mid-to-late first-round pick. Teams that don’t like him will point to his vulnerability as a defender and his lack of passing and face-up play and will consider him in the 30-45 pick range as a functional backup.”
Edey really could be selected anywhere in the draft, but the Lakers would certainly be an interesting landing spot if they were to sign Hurley.
A Bronny James-Zach Edey draft class?
The Lakers haven’t had much success in the draft in recent years, but this year is interesting. It is not considered a very strong class, but there could be some good players. It is worth noting that Lebron James‘son Bronny James is in the class.
He needs a lot of work but has potential as a defender. Hurley is one of the best player developers in college basketball and that skill should translate to the NBA when it comes to young players. Getting Edey in the first round and James in the second would give the Lakers a pair of young players with plenty of room to grow. The Lakers don’t need stars right now, they need reliable players. James developing into a strong perimeter defender and Edey becoming a reliable center would be huge for Los Angeles.