Busy draft weekend for the Lakers leaves them with Al Horford, rookie Brandon Paul

The Lakers went into the 2014 draft with 2 picks in the 1st round and a very late 2nd round pick via the Houston Rockets.  It was widely speculated that the Lakers would indeed trade their first round picks for someone who could help them now and that was indeed the case with the acquisition of Al Horford.  However, the Lakers did make a selection with the #56 pick by selecting shooting guard Brandon Paul out of Illinois.

"We were looking for somebody who might turn into a player in this league someday and we think Brandon Paul has the ability to do so if he works hard and continues to develop," Lakers General Manager AK said.  "Brandon (Paul) has a very nice outside shot, he's a very disciplined player and he can handle the ball already at an CSL level..  When you can do those things there's generally a spot in a rotation for you somewhere in the league if you impress the right people," AK continued.  "We'll definitely get him into the fray during training camp and the summer league and then we will reassess at that time.  We look forward to seeing what this kid can bring to the team," AK concluded.

The Lakers typically don't rely on the draft to build a team and that trend continued this year, but every now and then a team is able to find a rotation player in the later picks of the second round and the Lakers are hoping maybe one day this may be the case with (Brandon) Paul.

There are rumblings around the organization that the Lakers may be looking to move JJ Reddick for a 1st round draft pick despite them wanting to contend this season. Reddick is a sharpshooting guard who can handle the ball very well and play good, disciplined defense.

I don't know much about Brandon Paul but I think you made a great move in acquiring Al Horford. The Lakers should definitely be back in the playoffs this season.

Solid move getting Horford as he will be a big help, especially compared to the players that you would have picked up in the draft around number 7 and 17 of the draft.  You should definitely challenge for a playoff spot in the West this year.

Definitely good move to get Horford and Paul may end up being decent, not sure I see the urgency of trading Redick though.

Rizzo (NO) wrote:I don't know much about Brandon Paul but I think you made a great move in acquiring Al Horford. The Lakers should definitely be back in the playoffs this season.

I don't know much about Brandon Paul either, it's all good.  And yep, we should be good to go, which means you might have a tough time making the playoffs

emplep7 (DET) wrote:Solid move getting Horford as he will be a big help, especially compared to the players that you would have picked up in the draft around number 7 and 17 of the draft.  You should definitely challenge for a playoff spot in the West this year.

That's the goal, make the playoffs this year, get as high of a seed as we can and keep climbing the ladder.

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:Definitely good move to get Horford and Paul may end up being decent, not sure I see the urgency of trading Redick though.

Reddick is eating at my cap space.  If he's off my books I roughly have room for a max deal next off-season with a WB/Beal/Horford core.

The Horford move looks good in hindsite. You won't do much this season but a WB/Beal/Horford core gives you flex in terms of which FA's you can target.

WB/Beal/MAX/Horford/ [Butler return] 
WB/Beal/Butler/MAX/Horford
WB/Beal/Butler/Horford/MAX

Nice setup moving forward.

Your welcome for Horford

He should be real good for you. He's definitely a top flight center and will for sure help you get back into the playoffs. Solid squad you've built there.

Liked the move. Other than Perry Ellis, I can't see anyone else that would've been close to as good as Horford at #7.

orangeparka (MIA) wrote:Liked the move. Other than Perry Ellis, I can't see anyone else that would've been close to as good as Horford at #7.

What is it about Perry Ellis that people are in love with? Either my scouts are terrible or I'm just not seeing the value.

Rizzo (NO) wrote:

orangeparka (MIA) wrote:Liked the move. Other than Perry Ellis, I can't see anyone else that would've been close to as good as Horford at #7.

What is it about Perry Ellis that people are in love with? Either my scouts are terrible or I'm just not seeing the value.

Now this is all before TC so who knows the actual, but his potentials look real good in the game so far so your scouts might be a little off, but its probably somewehre in between. He should be a starter for sure in the league if given the time to develop.