The Los Angeles Lakers will once again be hoping the same holds true for them in 2013.
It's been quite a while since Los Angeles has actually used a first-round pick.
In 2009, the organization selected Toney Douglas at No. 29 overall but traded him to the New York Knicks. Other than that, you have to go back to 2007 to find its last first-round selection, as it grabbed Gilbert Arenas' future archnemesis, Javaris Crittenton, with the No. 19 pick.
Since then, it's been a whole lot of second-round mediocrity.
Devin Ebanks, Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock have made decent impacts for where they were selected, but Sun Yue, Joe Crawford, Chinemelu Elonu and others haven't worked out.
Nevertheless, with the No. 48 pick in a draft with solid depth, the Lakers have a chance to find a contributor.
Let's take a look at who's on their radar, according to the experts' most recent mock drafts.
Jonathan Givony, Draft Express: Deshaun Thomas, SF/PF, Ohio State
Deshaun Thomas is an interesting prospect.
At Ohio State, he was one of the most dangerous scorers in America, averaging 19.8 points on 44.4 percent shooting.
However, his lack of efficiency (his 1.10 points per weighted shot ranked 620th in the country), ideal size (6'7" with a 6'10" wingspan) and athleticism have many questioning if he can translate to the next level.
Still, there are plenty of things he can do well, most notably on the offensive end. He's an experienced 4 who can stretch defenses with a deadly shooting stroke. He can face the basket and score off the dribble, albeit sometimes in unconventional ways. He's effective at aggressively crashing the offensive glass and getting ti...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
