By James Brown
The Lakers GM Rob Pelinka not only had a great offseason by signing great role players like Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes without overpaying but also brought some new talent thanks to the 2023 NBA Draft.
With the No. 17 pick the Lakers selected Jalen Hood-Schifino, who loved the idea to be part of the purple and gold roster, as he is a Kobe Bryant fanatic. Pelinka also picked Maxwell Lewis and signed with a two-way contract the undrafted players Colin Castleton, D'Moi Hodge, and Alex Fudge.
But JHS is the player who is expected to be the future of the franchise, and his talent could make him part of the team's rotation sooner than expected. Hood-Schifino specifically excels on offense when he can attempt pull-up jumpers. Via Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman breaks down the numbers:
"At Indiana, Jalen Hood-Schifino drilled 80 pull-up jumpers in 32 games. Shooting off the dribble represents his go-to method for scoring. It keeps a lack of explosiveness from hurting him too much, as Hood-Schifino doesn't need to get to the rim to threaten defenses. He shot 42.1 percent on 152 two-point jumpers, showing a high comfort level stopping and popping in the mid-range. He also made 37.1 percent of his pull-up threes, compared to just 30.4 percent on catch-and-shoot threes."
Therefore, even though the Lakers already have several serviceable guards on their squad such as D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Gabe Vincent, 2023 first-rounder Jalen Hood-Schifino will look to provide value to the roster sooner rather than later be part of the team's rotation for coach Darvin Ham.
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