In the end, the Lakers emerged from the two rounds of the NBA draft on Tuesday and Wednesday with only one player aboard, Cameron Carr, who surprisingly slipped from a late lottery pick down to No. 24, where he was selected by New York and shipped to L.A. It’s the kind of good fortune the Lakers (and any team in the NBA) need as they try to build out their roster with a better base of talent, and the hope is that Carr plays more like a lottery pick than a guy who flirted with being a second-rounder.
The Lakers traded away a second-round pick and thus, emerged with only Carr on board. That was, at least, until the draft ended and the Lakers were able to look around at who was not selected. And they homed in on Vanderbilt’s AK Okereke, making him an offer for a two-way spot with the team. Okereke accepted and now, the Lakers have a second draft-week addition to the roster.
AK Okereke Faces Outside Scorn
That news came from Shams Charania, the ESPN insider, who wrote on Twitter/X: “Undrafted Vanderbilt forward AK Okereke has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN.”
Okereke is a 6-foot-7 forward who began his collegiate career at Cornell before transferring to Vanderbilt last season, where he averaged 9.6 points and 48.1% shooting. He’d fared better in the Ivy league, where he led the league with a 59.5% shooting mark in 2024, when he averaged 13.9 points. The SEC was a tougher battle, but Okereke still held his own.
Improving Offense in Warriors’ Goal
In an interview with Draft Digest last year, the new Lakers 2-way guy said he was able to adjust his game as he moved through the ranks before eventually landing in the NBA.
Okereke does have a singleness of purpose that works to his credit.
“If I had to choose something, I’d say my overall one-on-one game. Within the [Cornell] offense there were times you could go one-on-one but, for the most part, you stay within the offense and had to have the discipline to do so. High major there’s more isolation-type plays. Showcasing that part of my game and breaking down guys in one-on-one scenarios then if no one helps showing I can score at that level and also finding the open man if they do help.”
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