Lakers have the opportunity to draft Kristaps Porzingis in the 2015 NBA Draft, but they passed the opportunities. Now, they will regret their decision to see his capability in the NBA.
According to CBS Sports, the Lakers had brought Porzingis to a private workout to Los Angeles. But they made him to do a high physical workout which didn't suit his playing style. Furthermore, the coach Byron Scott still had the old-school Lakers mentality to have only a strong big man and avoid the talented big man in their team.
Lakers had a tradition of having a strong big man in their team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Vlade Divac, Shaquile O’Neal are the example of their tradition. The old-school Lakers never have a big man who can shoot from the long range with athleticism. Scott, who played with the 1980’s Lakers, still had that mentality
The Los Angeles Lakers finally selected D’Angelo Russel as their second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. New York Knicks drafted Porzingis as their fourth overall pick, which made many New York fans upset with the selection.
But Porzingis showed the Knicks fans that he is an exceptional player. He was a prolific scorer, tough defender and the offensive rebound beast. He averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He gradually increased his contribution to the team, and this season he averages 20.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
Lakers will regret the decision to not drafting him as they saw how the 7’3” power forward and center derailed their offense and defense on Sunday night 112-118 defeat against the Knicks. Porzingis led the Knicks with 26 points and 12 rebounds. He also denied seven scoring effort from the Lakers players with his amazing block shot.
In the post-game interview as quoted by New York Daily News , Porzingis said that he was glad to join the Knicks.
“The Lakers are a great organization. “But I’m really happy I was drafted by the Knicks.”
Watch the great performance of Prozingis posting seven blocks in the game against Lakers below:
