Lakers hold draft workouts with second round, undrafted free agent prospects

The Lakers continue working out prospects with a focus on undrafted free agents ahead of the 2024 NBA draft.

Now that the Lakers have reportedly agreed to a four-year deal with JJ Redick for him to become the next head coach, the focus intensifies on the NBA Draft.

Los Angeles continued its predraft process with a workout on Thursday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, with the crop of prospects being projected second round draft picks and undrafted free agents.

This crop has a few standouts, such as Baylor's Jalen Bridges.

Bridges is listed at No. 53 on DraftExpress’ top 100 prospects. Here is an excerpt from that article on how he may fare in the NBA.

Bridges made a huge leap as a spot-up threat last season and will likely hang around the NBA for a long time if he can continue to make shots at a strong rate. He might not add much on the ball and has some things to prove defensively, but he has an obvious role to fill at a position of significant need among NBA teams.

Another player the Lakers worked out that fans should keep an eye on is RaeQuan Battle.

Battle barely made it to the DraftExpress top 100 prospects at No. 99, but could be a player the Lakers pick up if he goes undrafted.

Here is his scouting report via DraftExpress:

Battle missed the early part of the season after the NCAA denied his waiver, but he proceeded to score 83 points over his first three games at West Virginia and then got just as hot at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Shot-makers in his mold have a place in today’s NBA, but he has some things to prove beyond his ability to put the ball in the basket.

[Editor’s note: Jumping in to give some insight on Xavier Johnson, a former Indiana Hoosier. He’s likely little more than a potential Summer League roster member and a G League player at best. He’s a quick guard with a great ability to get downhill and either finish at the rim or find teammates with dump-offs or kickouts. His jumper is very streaky and unreliable, as is his scoring overall. Injuries have also plagued him in recent years.]

It’s been tough hearing much of anything about players the Lakers have been working out besides Bronny James, so it’s refreshing to see some names connected to the organization and predraft workouts.

If there’s one thing the Lakers have done well during the Jeanie Buss era, it's drafting players. Hopefully, Los Angeles can strike gold once again and find a diamond in the rough.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.