Everybody knows the Los Angeles Lakers need a center, but they could also use more shooting, especially if they have to trade shooters to get a big man. The team has done a very good job drafting in recent years, but doesn’t have a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft
This will likely lead to them taking a swing at an older college player who has some proven success. Missouri shooting guard Tamar Bates could be an intriguing player to watch. He wasn’t the top scorer for Missouri, but he made over 38% of his 3-point shots in back-to-back years.
In Jonathan Wasserman’s latest mock draft for Bleacher Report, he projects the Lakers to take Bates with the No. 55 pick in the second round.
Tamar Bates has put himself in the second-round discussion with a strong draft process, first standing out at Elite Camp and then looking like he belonged during NBA combine scrimmages,” Wasserman wrote. “He’s an efficient shotmaker and one of the most efficient finishers among guards in this year’s field.”
Bates isn’t just a good 3-point shooter, but he’s also an elite free-throw shooter. He hit 94.6% from the free-throw line last season, which is a record number for Missouri.
Though he’s not a hyped draft prospect, he’s confident that he’s done what he can to set himself up to get drafted.
I think, simply put, my time at Missouri has prepared me for where I am now, based on a phrase Coach Gates said every day: ‘Giving your very best,’” Bates told reporters recently, via NBA.com. “That is how I’ve carried myself throughout my time at Missouri and throughout this process. A lot of teams have taken notice of that, and it has helped me a lot, especially being able to play in all of the events that I have been able to throughout this predraft process. I’m more than prepared for the predraft process and the NBA just because of where I played my last years
The Lakers’ big offseason plans aren’t going to be drafting a guard in the second round. They are going to have other big plans.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Lakers are going to be aggressive in upgrading the roster.
I expect them to be extremely aggressive this offseason, especially with LeBron likely going into, you know, he’s got one year left on his contract,” Marks said on “Get Up.” “I think there’s three things here. You’ve gotta take advantage of the $60 million in expiring contracts, when you’re looking at certainly players like Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura.
The second thing is, they showed their hand at the trade deadline when they made that Mark Williams trade that wound up failing him on his physical. They are going to go out and get a center this offseason, we’ll see how that goes, you’ve got one first-round pick to do that. And then the third thing is, keep an eye on Aug. 2 that is when Luka is eligible to sign that extension. So you’re trying to build for the now, but I think you also have to have an eye for the future when eventually LeBron does retire here.
Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd
