The Los Angeles Lakers significantly remade their supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis through several midseason trades. Those trades were good enough to take the team from a mediocre outfit to one that reached the Western Conference Finals.
Once there, however, it got swept by the Denver Nuggets, and the loss exposed its lack of productive wings.
The Lakers, at least as of now, have adequate backcourt depth, but they still have a lack of true wings with length. Luckily, they could find one on a team-friendly contract through the No. 17 or No. 47 picks in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft.
One intriguing wing they recently worked out is Caleb McConnell from Rutgers University.
McConnell has lots of defensive potential
McConnell, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., is known as a strong defender. He stands 6-foot-7 and averaged 2.5 steals a game this past season at Rutgers, and he has won two straight Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year awards while leading the conference in steals during the 2021-22 campaign.
Although he weighs only about 200 pounds, his positional defense isn’t too bad either, in addition to his ability to get steals and deflections.
The thing that is holding McConnell back is his lack of offense. In five seasons at Rutgers, he has averaged only 6.8 points a game and shot just 39.0 percent from the field. His 3-point shooting is also poor — he has made just 26.3 percent of his attempts from downtown during his college career.
He does, however, have some potential in terms of scoring off the ball and from the mid-range area.
McConnell just turned 24 years of age, which suggests he may have very limited upside moving forward. He also may not have the wingspan or the strength to play the small forward position at the next level.
He currently projects to go in the second round or end up undrafted.
