Lakers Draft Rumors: Late round sleepers the Lakers should consider
By Jason Reed
3. Anzejs Pasecniks – Center
The basketball world seems to be torn on Pasecniks, so it is not entirely clear whether or not he should be considered a sleeper pick at 28th overall. Draft Express ranks the center as the 26th prospect in the NBA Draft, while CBS Sports does not even rank Pasecniks on their big board of NBA Draft prospects.
Regardless of where Pasecniks stands on your own personal radar, there is a very good chance that he will be selected in this draft and he will be one of the best sleeper picks. He is not a household name by any stretch of the imagination, and much like Rudy Gobert, can turn from a late first round pick into a dominant shot blocking center.
Pasecniks certainly has the size to succeed at the NBA level. Standing in at seven-feet, two-inches he is actually taller than Gobert, also being around 20 pounds slimmer. There is no doubt that he would need to bulk up slightly in order to compete with the men that play center in the NBA, but that should not be a problem.
Overall, Pasecniks has the perfect size and build to be a dominant big man in the future for the Los Angeles Lakers. Much like Gobert, he likely won’t make an impact early, as Gobert only averaged 2.3 points a game his rookie campaign. However, as he develops and creeps closer to that age of 25 Pasecniks could become one of the best big men in the league.