If you buy what Rob Pelinka sells, the Lakers The 2023 NBA draft wrapped up with a great feeling. Pelinka offered high praise for up-and-coming rookie and #17-ranked pick Jalen Hood-Scheveno, and even offered a potential player who would instantly buy Los Angeles fans.
like the athleteWith Jovan Buha Pelinka revealed Hood-Cheffino as “lottery-level talent” and noted his “Lakers DNA”. The praise that came from Pelinka was nothing on the superficial level either, with the Lakers’ general manager going so far as to compare the former Indiana guard to a current fan favorite in Austin Reeves.
“We saw, again, as a point of comparison, with a player like Austin Reeves, when we recruited him, he wasn’t a shooter. That’s because he worked — and he worked with our people,” Pelinka said. And I know that’s something Galen adheres to as well.”
It’s a great point from Pelinka and it should resonate with Lakers fans as they’ve watched Reeves make such huge strides forward in his career.
The 25-year-old freshman is in a season where he averaged nearly career-best marks across the board, with 13 points per game and 3.4 assists (up from 7.3 points and 1.8 assists in 2021-22). His shooting role has also improved, going from 45.9 to 52.9% and from 31.7 to 39.8% from three-point range.
Pelinka even took it a step further by raving about the idea of pairing Hood-Schivino and Reeves in the backcourt together, pointing to the ability for either player to play both guard positions, each for their own. the athlete.
“You’re thinking about the opportunity to bring two young goalkeepers together like Austin Reeves and Galen Hood-Schevino,” said Pelinka. People will say, is Austin a point guard? 2- A guard? Well, he’s a keeper on the ball. He can play with the ball in his hand. And I would say the same about Galen Hood Chevenue.”
It will be interesting to watch how the Lakers build up the remainder of their roster. This build could go a long way toward trying to get an idea of how much playing time Hood-Chevino could get during his rookie campaign.