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Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe was among a group of six 2023 draft prospects hosted by the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Tshiebwe was joined by guards Terquavion Smith of North Carolina State, Cam Shelton of Loyola Marymount, Nadir Hifi from France, New Mexico center Morris Udeze and Kansas forward Jalen Wilson.
Dave McMenamin @mcten
Lakers pre-draft workout group for Friday:
Nadir Hifi – France
Jalen Wilson – Kansas
Morris Udeze – New Mexico
Cam Shelton – LMU
Terquavion Smith – NC State
Oscar Tshiebwe – Kentucky
The Lakers own picks No. 17 and 47 in this year’s draft. If they don’t trade their top selection, this will mark the first year they have picked in the top 20 since taking De’Andre Hunter No. 4 overall in 2019.
Hunter was technically picked by the New Orleans Pelicans and traded to the Atlanta Hawks since the No. 4 selection was included in the three-team deal that brought Anthony Davis to Los Angeles, but the trade couldn’t go through until the start of the new league year after the draft.
The last top-20 pick for the Lakers who actually played for the team was Lonzo Ball in 2017 (No. 2 overall).
Tshiebwe is the biggest name in this collective after playing four years in college, including the past two seasons at Kentucky. The 23-year-old won every major National Player of the Year award during the 2021-22 season. He averaged 16.9 points and 14.4 rebounds in 66 games for the Wildcats over two seasons.
Per B/R NBA draft analyst Jonathan Wasserman‘s big board, Smith is the best prospect in this group. He ranks No. 32 overall in the 2023 class based on his “shot-making and knack for catching fire.”
Wilson is the only other player ranked in Wasserman’s top 50.
In his two-round mock draft posted on Friday, Wasserman had the Lakers using their second-round pick on Smith. Wilson was his next pick off the board to the Los Angeles Clippers at No. 48.
Tshiebwe is Wasserman’s final pick in the draft (58th overall), heading to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Depending on how things play out during the actual draft, the Lakers could end up signing at least one of these players as an undrafted free agent for their summer-league squad to see what they might have to offer.
Austin Reaves went from being undrafted and signing a two-way contract in August 2021 to an essential player for the Lakers during their playoff run this season.