One of the big mystery men of the upcoming NBA draft is a guy who is not quite sure he is staying in the draft at all: Kentucky freshman center Malachi Moreno, who averaged 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds as a freshman and is not quite sure whether he has a spot in the first round of the draft. If he doesn’t the presumption is that he will return to college ahead of next week’s deadline. But there are rumors that Moreno has a first-round promise.
Could that be the Lakers? L.A. and the Knicks appear to be the best candidates, though that is based on supposition and not necessarily on hard facts.
Still, at this point, we are mocking Moreno to the Lakers, with good reason: L.A. badly needs a revamp in the middle, and Moreno is an athletic rim-runner who can protect the paint. He is young, and needs developing, but the Lakers are making improvements to their development crew and won’t be afraid to think long-term in this draft.
Lakers Seeking Size in NBA Draft
In our evaluation of Moreno as a Lakers NBA draft prospect, we wrote:
“There is chatter that Moreno has been guaranteed a first-round spot in the draft, and though he is still weighing going back to college, there’s a good chance he stays and hears his name called. He needs to get stronger and will need significant polish to his game, but he has the potential to be a cutter who can defend the paint–and guys with 7-foot-5.5 wingspans are hard to find.”
And a scout who spoke to Heavy Sports about Moreno had this to say: “He is raw but the tools are there. His athleticism is not off the charts, but he can run the floor, he likes to run the floor and he can attack the rim when asked to. If he stays in, he is going to be a really interesting project for someone, he can have a big impact.”
NBA Draft Is Deep in 2026
As for the NBA draft in general, even picking where they are — at No. 25–the Lakers are still in a position to add a quality player.
One NBA scouting evaluator summed up the NBA draft class this way: “This is a great draft to have one of the first three or four picks, and then to have pretty much any pick after 10 or so. There is a strong group at the top and all of them—three, four guys depending on how you view (Caleb) Wilson—have a chance to be stars. They all have their strengths. I think you can make a case for any of them at No. 1.
“But after that, you have a lot of good point guards who have flaws. And beyond that, you have depth. So if you are picking in the depth area, I mean, it’s not a bad place to be. You can take a swing in the middle of the first round or late in the round, and you might really hit, especially with the big guys.”
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