NBA Draft Rumors: Lakers selecting Marcus Smart or Julius Randle ‘strong possibility’
By Bryan Rose
Although the Los Angeles Lakers are named among the teams that are most likely to trade away their top ten draft pick, there’s still a chance Los Angeles won’t find anything to their liking and will end up keeping their No. 7 selection.
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If that proves to be the case, there are a couple players who’ve seemingly captured the eye of the Lakers front office which includes Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State and Julius Randle of Kentucky.
According to Chad Ford of ESPN, there’s a ‘strong possibility’ that one of the two could be drafted by the Lakers.
“I heard his workouts have all been good. There’s nothing wrong, in the short term with his foot. Teams are worried about the placement of a screw in his foot and think it could turn into a long-term issue. The talk about surgery is as a preventive measure. However, some teams have more issues than other with his foot. I think he’s a strong possibility in LA. Him or Marcus Smart.”
Of course, as Ford somewhat mentions above, there have been concerns about Randle’s temperamental foot, of which he had surgery on during the early portion of Kentucky’s season last year. Some have suggested that Randle may need to have another operation before the start of his rookie NBA season, though the former Wildcat has stated such won’t be needed and that he has been cleared by doctors who agree that his foot is healthy.
Despite that, it’s going to be the call of NBA team doctor’s who have the final word on Randle’s foot ‘problem’.
Meanwhile, Marcus Smart has been rumored to be drafted as high as No. 4 by the Orlando Magic though in recent days it appears as if they have began looking at other options.