EL SEGUNDO – Most of the Lakers’ attention on Friday was focused on Lonzo Ball, as team executives spent the morning in Chino Hills for a second workout with Ball, the former UCLA point guard who m…
EL SEGUNDO – Most of the Lakers’ attention on Friday was focused on Lonzo Ball, as team executives spent the morning in Chino Hills for a second workout with Ball, the former UCLA point guard who most expect them to take with their No. 2 pick in next week’s NBA draft. Back at home, a striking contrast represented just how narrow the margins of NBA superstardom can be.
Six players, all college stars like Ball, became the latest to cycle through the Lakers’ facility, eager to demonstrate that they, too, belonged. Traversing the country since May, they have tried to sell their potential as pros, developing a rhythm in these workouts; a strategy for standing out.
“Just stick out by doing things people are not doing, ” said Devin Robinson, a former Florida star who was participating in his 15th workout. “Like talking, playing defense, bringing the energy. Because a lot of guys don’ t know each other, they just stick to themselves.
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While the two-round NBA draft drags late into the night, the 60 players selected only represent a fraction of the players auditioning for NBA jobs this month. For players at the top of the draft, like Ball, Washington’s Markelle Fultz and Kansas’ Josh Jackson, the workouts might be of little significance.
For everyone else, a strong showing might mean earning a spot on a summer league roster, receiving a training camp invite or finding a home in the Development League.
That’s why the Lakers have worked out more than 100 players. They aren’ t considering all of them at No. 28, their other first-round selection.
Jabari Bird, who spent four years at Cal, said he hadn’ t developed any special tricks over the course of his 12 workouts.
“I just try to go into every workout trying to be myself, ” he said. “I’ ve been Jabari Bird my whole life and that’s who I’ m going to be the rest of my life.”
It’s wash, rinse, repeat for players like Robinson, who could just as easily fall out of the draft entirely as sneak into the second round. They know that any edge they can find could make a difference in next Thursday’s draft. So they go into these workouts with a philosophy and try to stick to it.
It doesn’ t always go so well.
Of the six players at Friday’s workout, only Robinson appeared on the most recent DraftExpress.com mock draft.
“I look at the mock drafts, some of them I’ m on, some of them I’ m not on, ” Robinson said. “So I just use that as motivation, just come out here and try to prove people wrong.
Robinson acknowledged that he has struggled in some workouts; that he’s had the feeling of a missed opportunity.
“Yeah, I got a couple of those, for sure, ” he said. “More in the earlier stages, but yeah, I just take those, take the feedback I got and the criticism I got and try to apply it to the rest of the workouts.”
