With the NBA Draft less than a month away, several former college basketball players across the nation are looking to impress NBA teams in effort to get selected on draft day. Today, the Los Angeles Lakers held workouts for a number of potential pros which included UCLA basketball’s Norman Powell.
Powell was the heart and soul of the UCLA basketball team this past season. In his senior year, he lead the Bruins in scoring (16.4 ppg) and steals (1.8 spg) and was third on the team in assists (2.1 apg) and rebounds (4.7 rpg).
Not only was he reliable on both ends of the court, but he was essentially a human highlight reel. Aside from the athletic freshman Kevon Looney who also made himself eligible for the draft, Powell was the most explosive Bruin this season.
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Powell has not been a name that has been on a lot of mock drafts, especially in the first round, but there are several outlets that believe the San Diego native could go in the second round.
Currently there are several mock drafts that have Powell selected 35th by the Philadelphia 76ers (CBSSports.com), 51st by the Orlando Magic (NBADraftRoom.com), 54th by the Utah Jazz (DraftExpress.com) and is even projected to be the final pick in the first round by the Golden State Warriors according to NBADraft.net.
As for the Los Angeles Lakers, they have first round selections at #2 and #27 and pick #34 in the second round which means that if LA was interested in Powell, they would most likely take him in the late first or early second round.
Personally, though it seems the Lakers are a few years away from being contenders, they have a young core that they can build off of in the next few years. Adding Powell to that mix would not only give them a solid defender, but also bring some pizzazz back to LA.