2025 Lakers draft prospects: Lamont Butler
2025 Lakers draft prospects: Lamont Butler
The Los Angeles Lakers will not have a first-round draft pick this year, but they will have the No. 55 overall pick in the second round. While the odds of ending up with a serviceable player that low in the draft are minuscule, the Lakers have been able to find diamonds in the rough in the second round in recent years.
They appear to be doing some due diligence in order to make the most out of that No. 55 selection. They were scheduled to work out Samson Johnson, a big man from the University of Connecticut, and Lamont Butler, a guard who played for the University of Kentucky Wildcats this past season, will reportedly work out for Los Angeles.
Butler is a small guard who is 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, and he averaged 11.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals a game on 49.8% from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range during the 2024-25 campaign. Before that, he spent four seasons with San Diego State University, where he was named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year during the 2023-24 season.
He is a native of Southern California. He grew up in Moreno Valley in the Inland Empire, and he went to Riverside Polytechnic High School, where he broke NBA legend Reggie Miller's career school scoring mark. He received offers from several colleges, including the University of Southern California, before he committed to San Diego State.
His defensive abilities and improving outside shooting could appeal to a Lakers team that needs more of those qualities from its backcourt and wing players in order to become a true championship contender next season.
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