Lakers News: G League Ignite Standout Visits LA Ahead of Draft

Could he be a fit for L.A.?

Dec 12, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; A of the logo of the Los Angeles Lakers on the shorts of forward LeBron James (23) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Former G League Ignite big man Tyler Smith has been making the rounds when it comes to pre-draft workouts.

Evan Sidery of Forbes reports that the 6-foot-11 center/power forward has worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards.

Sidery opines that Smith seems to have carved out a top-25 draft spot, judging by all these workouts. Los Angeles possesses the No. 17 pick in this year's draft, and could certainly benefit from fortifying its frontcourt, after veteran's minimum free agent big man signings Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes flopped in 2023-24.

Although All-Star center Anthony Davis played a career-most 76 regular season games last season, there's no guaranteeing that the 31-year-old vet is going to have that kind of injury luck in 2024-25. Then again, gambling on a raw 19-year-old to be a steadying presence as his primary backup is also fairly risky.

Across 27 contests (two starts) for the Ignite during the team's swan song season in 2023-24, Smith averaged 13.4 points on .481/.364/.725 shooting splits, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, one block and 0.7 steals, while averaging a relatively limited 22 minutes a night.

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