3 Lakers on the Trade Block This Offseason
By Cem Yolbulan
Jalen Hood-Schifino
What a disappointment of a first-round pick Hood-Schifino was last year. The 17th-overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Indiana product failed to get any significant minutes as a rookie.
What hurts even more? The fact that the next three picks in the draft were Jaime Jaquez, Brandin Podziemski, and Cam Whitmore. Imagine if the Lakers had one of those three players not only as basketball players but also as trade chips.
Instead, the Lakers have to get whatever they can for Hood-Schifino. The combo guard has some pick-and-roll and scoring ability off-the-dribble. The fact that he wasn't able to play any role while the Lakers desperately needed more offensive firepower at times was disappointing.
However, he is only 20 years old. We have seen plenty of young players take important steps forward after not showing much as rookies. Someone will want to take a flyer on, so there should be teams who may treat him as a positive value. He will not net a player of significant value by himself but the Lakers will certainly try to use him as a sweetener in a potential deal.
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