Lakers’ 2026 Draft Process: A Look at the Prospects Los Angeles Has Worked Out or Interviewed

With the No. 25 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Lakers have assembled a wide-ranging list of prospects they’ve met as the team hunts for young, cost-controlled talent heading into a major offseason.

By The Apex Times Newsroom2 min readAI-assisted Apex article

The Los Angeles Lakers enter the 2026 NBA Draft with a single first-round pick and a predictable need to maximize it. According to the NBA’s own team profile, Los Angeles holds the No. 25 overall selection for the draft, after a 53-29 regular season that ended in a conference semifinals matchup that did not produce an NBA Finals trip.

As the offseason begins in earnest, the Lakers’ pre-draft attention has broadened into a workout-and-interview trail that is increasingly hard to track from official channels. One reason: the team no longer announces workouts, so confirmation often comes only when prospects later reveal they met with the Lakers. The tracker published by Silver Screen and Roll, using publicly available workout information, lists the players the Lakers have been linked to as part of that process.

Silver Screen and Roll’s tracker identifies 13 prospects who have worked out or been interviewed by Los Angeles for the 2026 NBA Draft. The names include Sam Alexis (Indiana), Drake Allen (Utah State), Duke Brennan (Villanova), Rafael Castro (George Washington), Zuby Ejiofor (St. John’s), Jaden Henley (Grand Canyon), Alex Karaban (UConn), Keba Keita (BYU), Baba Miller (Cincinnati), Mike Sharavjamts (South Carolina), Peter Suder (Miami), Marquel Sutton (LSU), and Mohamed Wague (Oklahoma).

The No. 25 slot itself carries uncertainty. Silver Screen and Roll notes that this selection has produced both hits and misses recently, and it also points to an old example from the franchise’s own history: the Lakers used the No. 25 pick in 2018 on Moe Wagner. That context matters for a team whose roster decisions are already compressed by how quickly contracts, player options, and offseason outcomes can change.

Team-building priorities may influence who the Lakers keep closest as draft prep advances. The NBA’s pre-draft outlook for Los Angeles frames the pick as a tool for either developing a younger player on a rookie deal or potentially packaging the asset to alter the roster trajectory. It also describes the organization’s wider offseason questions, including how Los Angeles plans to construct its lineup around Luka Dončić as the team looks toward the next competitive window.

What to watch next is whether the Lakers’ workout list narrows toward specific needs as the draft approaches. Because workouts are not officially announced, it is possible the team has additional meetings that never reach public trackers, or that some prospect links reflect limited access rather than a deeper evaluation. Even so, the current roster of names suggests the Lakers are casting a broad net at multiple positions, and that their No. 25 pick could serve as a pivot point for both immediate contribution and longer-term development.

Why It Matters

With just one first-round pick, the Lakers’ scouting meetings can offer the clearest public preview of how Los Angeles intends to address roster needs this summer.
Workouts and interviews can influence whether the No. 25 selection is used for immediate impact or for a longer-development bet, a key strategic fork in most mid-to-late lottery decisions.
The Lakers’ evaluation process also reflects the broader market value of young, cost-controlled players, especially for teams trying to balance contention with roster flexibility.
How Los Angeles uses its pick could shape its postseason identity next year, particularly if the organization targets frontcourt spacing, rim protection, or perimeter creation based on which prospects are prioritized.

Sources

Key Facts

The NBA’s 2026 Draft profile for the Los Angeles Lakers lists their first-round selection as No. 25 overall.
Silver Screen and Roll reports the Lakers no longer announce workouts, so publicly tracked meetings often come from prospects themselves.
A public tracker associated with the Lakers’ process lists 13 prospects who have worked out or interviewed with Los Angeles: Sam Alexis, Drake Allen, Duke Brennan, Rafael Castro, Zuby Ejiofor, Jaden Henley, Alex Karaban, Keba Keita, Baba Miller, Mike Sharavjamts, Peter Suder, Marquel Sutton, and Mohamed Wague.
The Lakers’ No. 25 pick has been described as a volatile spot, with Silver Screen and Roll citing Moe Wagner as a prior example selected there in 2018.
The NBA’s team profile describes Los Angeles as entering the offseason after a 53-29 season that ended in conference semifinals play.