The 2026 NBA Draft is on the horizon, bringing one of the most significant dates on the league’s calendar.
Childhood dreams of making it to the NBA will be achieved.
Teams will turn draft assets into tangible players who they hope will contribute to winning in the short- and long-term future.
And in the background, teams will continue to explore the options that’ll help them achieve their goals for 2026-27.
For the Lakers, who have a first-round pick in the draft (No. 25), the opportunity the draft presents as it pertains to roster building can’t be whiffed on.
In their pursuit of assembling a roster that’ll be competitive against the 2026 Western Conference champion Spurs and 2025 NBA champion Thunder, the Lakers have two main options for their first-round pick: trade it for a player who’s ready to compete for a title now alongside Luka Doncic or select a prospect whom they plan to develop and hope will help now and in the future.
If the Lakers choose the latter, there isn’t a shortage of options.
Toward the top of that list, should he be available for the Lakers to draft, is Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance.
Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky big
2025-26 stats (Kentucky): 5 points (57.1% shooting), 5 rebounds, 16.8 minutes in four games
2024-25 stats (Arizona State): 9.4 points (52.5% shooting — 60% on 2-pointers, 18.8% on 3-pointers), 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 29.5 minutes in 24 games
Measurements: 6-foot-9 (without shoes), 253 pounds, 7-foot-5 ¼ wingspan, 9-foot-1 standing reach
Why draft Jayden Quaintance?
The defensive potential is what makes Quaintance such an intriguing prospect.
His blend of size, length, athleticism, quick-twitch and strength made him a versatile and formidable defender in college.
Quaintance can play drop coverage and prioritize protecting the rim with his long arms and leaping ability, as well as switch out on the perimeter and stick with opposing ball handlers because of his coordination, lateral-movement fluidity and quickness.
And his strength makes it challenging for bigger players to bump him off his spots.
Quaintance’s simply physically imposing: As a rebounder. As a rim protector. As a screener. As an over interior presence on both ends of the floor.
He’s a forceful player who should be ready for the NBA’s physicality from Day 1.
It doesn’t take much imagination to envision Quaintance developing into the type of player who can be a rim-running lob threat on one end and defensive anchor on the other, controlling the boards and helping win the possession battle with his knack for steals and offensive rebounds.
And as one of the younger players in his draft class — he played his entire freshman seasons at 17 years old and doesn’t turn 19 until July — there are reasons to be optimistic about his ability to further develop the passing and self-creation he showed glimpses of in college.
It’d take development and patience, but Quaintance fits into the archetype of big man Doncic thrives alongside.
Areas of improvement?
Before focusing on the medical side of things, Quaintance has pretty clear areas of improvement.
His poor free-throw shooting in college (45.2% — 38-of-84) makes it challenging to see him develop into a reliable shooting threat outside of the paint. He made 6-of-32 3-point attempts during his freshman season with the Sun Devils.
And Quaintance already could use improvement with finishing around the basket and having a softer touch around the rim on non-dunks/contested finishes that require more finesse.
Outside of taking slow-footed big men off the dribble, he wasn’t much of an offensive creator in college.
And there’s an overall refinement of his game on both ends of the floor that’ll take time to hone in on — which isn’t surprising considering his age and the fact he played just 28 games/776 minutes in college.
But the biggest concern about Quaintance, who’s a draft-lottery-level talent, will be on the medical side, which is something teams should get clarity on ahead of the draft.
He only played 67 minutes across four games with Kentucky during his sophomore season due to swelling in his right knee — the same knee in which he suffered a torn ACL in February 2025 during his freshman year.
Quaintance told the Lexington Herald-Leader at the combine last month that his knee felt good but wasn’t fully participating in the running, conditioning and “high-impact stuff” activities.
He took part in his agency’s pro day in May.
Quaintance will likely be drafted before the Lakers are on the clock with the No. 25 pick. But if Quaintance is available, the Lakers should take a shot on his upside despite the concerns.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
