Los Angeles

Lakers

Suder spent two seasons at Bellarmine before transferring to Miami (OH) ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. His senior year was the best, with the 6-foot-4 guard averaging 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 three-pointers while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 73.4 percent from the foul line. While Suder did shoot 42.1 percent from three, he made only 33.1 percent of his attempts over four seasons, so there will be questions about his consistency.

The 6-foot-7, 245-pound Okereke played three seasons at Cornell before transferring to Vanderbilt for his final year of college basketball. In 36 games, he averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 three-pointers, shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 77.5 percent from the foul line. While on limited volume, Okereke shot 40 percent from beyond the arc last season.

The 21-year old Ishchenko has been plying his trade for Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia at both the youth and professional levels. This past season, he averaged 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals in nearly 24 minutes per game, shooting 51.6 percent from the field, 46.3 percent from three and 80.1 percent from the foul line. Ishchenko is a gifted offensive player with good size, and his physical tools also make him a factor defensively. The overall skill set still needs some polish, but there’s a lot for an NBA team to work with. The Lakers acquired this pick by dealing cash considerations before the second round began, and they ended up getting cash back instead of making the pick. Ishchenko is an intriguing prospect for Dallas to build with as they start forming a core around Cooper Flagg.

The Lakers added a second pick in the draft after selecting Cameron Carr with the 24th pick on Tuesday. It’s one of the last few picks in the draft, so it’s unclear who they could be targeting at this point. Chicago still has pick No. 38 after making two top-15 picks on Tuesday.

With Reaves back in the fold, the Lakers have he and Luka Dončić locked in as franchise cornerstones for the foreseeable future. The Lakers will have a busy offseason as they navigate LeBron James’ potential return and decide what moves to make to get the team in a more competitive position.

A native of Valladolid, Spain, the 6-foot-6 De Larrea helped lead Valencia to the Spanish Supercup this season. One of the top young international players in this draft class, he averaged 7.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists in just over 14 minutes per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from three and 81.2 percent from the foul line. De Larrea’s combination of basketball IQ, size and shooting ability makes him one of the most intriguing prospects in this class. New York traded back from 24 to 25 and received cash considerations. De Larrea’s draft rights were eventually acquired by Phoenix, which sent them to Dallas in exchange for the draft rights to No. 30 overall pick Koa Peat. For the transactions, the Knicks received five second-round picks, two from Dallas and three from Phoenix. The question is whether De Larrea comes over immediately or spends another season in Spain, but his chances of playing in the NBA in 2026-27 have improved with the move to Dallas.

After appearing in just 18 games over the course of one-plus season at Tennessee, the 6-foot-5 Carr transferred to Baylor during the 2024-25 campaign. After playing well in the 2025 World University Games, he took another step forward in his lone season with the Bears. A third-team All-Big 12 selection, Carr averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.3 blocks and 2.3 three-pointers per game, shooting 49.4 percent from the field, 37.4 percent from three and 80.1 percent from the foul line. A standout performance at the NBA Draft Combine helped Carr even more, essentially locking him into the middle of the first round. While the Knicks made the pick, he will be a Laker after Los Angeles moved up a spot in the draft order in exchange for cash considerations. With Dalton Knecht unable to earn consistent rotation minutes, Carr will have every opportunity to provide value as a rookie.

James, who turns 42 in December, is an unrestricted free agent. And for the first time in his NBA career, he is not viewed as the priority signing going into free agency. The Lakers have prioritized building around Luka Dončić, including a desire to re-sign free-agent guard Austin Reaves. Given what Reaves’ price tag is expected to be, LeBron may have to take a significant pay cut to return to the Lakers. Agent Rich Paul said during a media appearance on Friday that “10-12 teams” have reached out to him regarding James, so he’ll have options in free agency. While James can still be a highly effective option for fantasy managers, his age has lowered the ceiling for 2026-27.

The Lakers have long viewed re-signing Reaves as a priority this offseason, and the expectation was that the cost of doing business would be high. According to The Athletic, the Nets are willing to offer the shooting guard the highest deal they can, which comes to about $178.5 million over four years. Unlike other teams, the Lakers can offer Reaves a fifth year, but the question is how much they’re willing to pay. And with other questions lingering, such as LeBron James’ future and how they’ll fill out the rest of the roster around Luka Dončić, the Lakers could find themselves in a challenging spot regarding Reaves’ deal. As for the Nets, adding Reaves would give them an undisputed building block on the perimeter. And with none of the guards selected in the first round of last summer’s draft (Egor Dëmin, Nolan Traoré and Ben Saraf) truly standing out, this is an area of need for the rebuilding franchise.

Reaves found his rhythm again on Monday after an unspectacular Game 3. He shot efficiently both inside and outside the arc and repeatedly made his way to the free-throw line before finishing with a team-high in points. The fifth-year guard did struggle with turnovers against a tough Thunder defense. Still, his scoring and facilitating across his 43 minutes were important for the Lakers. Reaves missed a lot of time with injuries throughout the regular season, which hurt his fantasy value. When healthy, he was as productive as last season. He’ll likely be one of the better guards in fantasy leagues next season if injuries aren’t as big an issue.