The Lakers are heading into the NBA draft with the 25th pick, and the names linked to that spot keep stacking up. Mock drafts have connected them to Dailyn Swain, Isaiah Evans, Chris Cenac Jr., Tarris Reed, Henri Veesaar and Jayden Quaintance, giving Los Angeles a first-round decision that could shape the next phase of its roster around Luka Doncic.
The draft begins Tuesday at Barclays Center, just as the NBA calendar starts to compress around free agency. Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart must decide on their player options by June 29 at 8:59 p.m. PT, free-agent talks can begin at 3 p.m. on June 30, and contracts can be signed starting July 6 at 9:01 a.m. That makes the Lakers’ draft choice feel less like a standalone move and more like the first piece in a week that could decide much of the summer.
The case for the 25th pick starts with the class itself. It is being described as one of the deepest in a generation, with Bobby Marks pointing to what he called three No. 1 picks in AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer. Fran Fraschilla has also highlighted how unpredictable this group can be, the kind of draft where elite value has shown up far from the top before. That history matters because the Lakers are not shopping for just any player. They are targeting wings and bigs to build around Luka Doncic, which narrows the field even inside a deep pool.
That is where the friction sits. The class may be deep, but the Lakers’ preferred wing and frontcourt options are not necessarily the strongest part of it, and Jeremy Woo said 25 is right around where the talent pool drops into the next tier of players. Isaiah Evans illustrates the appeal and the uncertainty of that range. He shot 36.1% from three-point range on 7.4 attempts per game last season for Duke, averaged 15 points and 3.2 rebounds, and said he only cares about going to “a city that is going to accept me.”
The broader question is whether Los Angeles can count on any one of those names being there when it finally picks. The later part of the first round is expected to be volatile, which makes the Lakers’ selection as much about timing and fit as talent. LeBron James may also be weighing a run at a record-extending 24th season, so the pressure on the front office is simple: the No. 25 pick has to land where the roster can still grow.
