From the very early periods of last season, it was becoming obvious that the Los Angeles Lakers had made a colossal mistake that brought huge benefit to the Golden State Warriors.
In what's now becoming an infamous draft selection, the Lakers took guard Jalen Hood-Schifino with the 17th overall pick in 2023. The Warriors took Brandin Podziemski two picks later at 19, and the rest as they say is history (albeit short so far).
The Lakers complete their draft disaster after passing on Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski
Golden State completed the formality of picking up Podziemski's $3.7 million third-year player option prior to Tuesday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans, in which the 21-year-old played a game-high 38 minutes and recorded 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
But while that may have been a mere formality, it wasn't so simple for the Lakers who have chose to decline the $4 million third-year option on Hood-Schifino. As reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, the move "creates roster flexibility for a Lakers team currently set to start the next offseason over the salary cap."
In other words, the Lakers have essentially given up on their first-round pick by the start of his second season. Hood-Schifino appeared in just 21 games during his rookie year, averaging 1.6 points and 0.6 rebounds in 5.1 minutes while shooting 22.2% shooting from the floor and 13.1% from three-point range.
Those are very underwhelming numbers and things haven't improved given the 21-year-old hasn't got on the floor at all so far this season. Hood-Schifino we'll now enter next offseason as an unrestricted free agent, suggesting that his career in Los Angeles may already be over.
In contrast, Golden State were very protective of Podziemski in trade discussions this offseason, particularly when it came to Utah Jazz forward and 2023 All-Star Lauri Markkanen. Yet Podziemski isn't the only player the Lakers passed on who has shown star potential early in their career.
The following three picks after Hood-Schifino are the stuff of nightmares for the Lakers. Jaime Jaquez Jr. was taken at 18 by the Miami Heat, with the 23-year-old also earning All-Rookie First Team honors last season after averaging nearly 12 points and almost four rebounds per game.
After Podziemski was taken 19th, the Houston Rockets swooped on Cam Whitmore who was the slider of last year's draft. Whitmore averaged 12.3 points and 3.8 rebounds last season, with his combination of athleticism and shooting make him a potential future star.
The Lakers aren't in a terrible spot right now, but they could have certainly done with another rotation piece in the form of Jaquez, Podziemski or Whitmore. Instead they passed on all three for a player whose NBA career is now very much in jeopardy before its even got off the ground.