Tony Bennett And 2026 Draft Discussion

Seems like a hell of a first major hire for Walter, even if initially the title is a bit underwhelming.
Watch your back JJ? Regardless, this guy is the real deal as others have said initially. 364-136 (.728) overall record.

Bennett was the AP national coach of the year in 2007 and 2018. He led Virginia to six ACC regular-season championships. He previously coached at Washington State from 2006-09.

“When Rob and I began talking, what stood out to me was the chance to help out such a storied organization,” Bennett said in a statement. “The Lakers carry a tradition that speaks for itself, so to be connected to it and assist Rob and the Lakers in any way I can is exciting.”

Bennett played under his father, d*** Bennett, at Wisconsin-Green Bay before playing four years in the NBA, including three for Charlotte from 1992-95.

He wasn't fired in 2024, he retired from College ball because of the changes and how it impacted what he did.

AI:

Tony Bennett retired as the University of Virginia's men’s basketball coach in October 2024 because
he felt he could no longer fully commit to the demands of modern college athletics, citing the changing landscape of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal. He felt his, and the game's, traditional approach no longer aligned with the current, more professionalized environment.
Key reasons for his decision included:

• The Changing Landscape: Bennett expressed that the current state of college athletics is "not in a healthy spot," citing a lack of regulation, the need for collective bargaining, and intense pressure on player and coach mental health.
• Lack of Full Commitment: He stated that to lead the program, he needed to be "all-in," and realized he could not give the 100% effort required.
• Shift in Coaching Model: Bennett felt less equipped to navigate the new era of NIL and the transfer portal, believing it was best for the program to have someone else lead.
• Timing: He concluded, during a break with his wife, that it was simply "time" to step away and that staying would be unfair to the team.

Bennett departed as the winningest coach in UVA history, having led them to the 2019 NCAA Championship. Ron Sanchez was named acting head coach for the 2024-25 season.

No messing around deep pockets Mark, one would think, with the importance of what we do this off season, has likely given him a blank check to bring in whole bunch of guys HE knows and trusts their scouting abilities (and auditioning for Lakers jobs?)..... in an urgent push to get the best possible results for the Lakers' intel on this before the draft hits in just three and a half months on June 24-25 ???

 

And Hell No to Giannis, a gutted roster and back to a bunch of vet mins and NO draft picks. I trust Mark to not be that stoopid.

 

Good pull

You beat me to it

 

Bad omen to have LT starting this thread

 

I'll believe it when i see it.

 

Stay safe! Again.

 

If the focus is on athletic 2way wings then I think Dailyn Swain or Cameron Carr will be there at the end of the first. Two interesting wing projects who might be 2nd rounders or undrafted are Dillon Mitchell out of St Johns (could be a DJJ type) and Miles Byrd out of San Diego St (elite POA, could guard 1-3) though maybe he stays in school another year.

 

i like joshua jefferson as a big two-way roleplayer forward. he's not a great athlete, but he's not a bad one. and he's just smart and tough. downside is shooting, but he's 77% from the ft line, and i'd bet on him becoming good enough on the catch and shoot to play with luka/AR type offensive engines.

but yeah, carr and swain are both really interesting as well. there will 100% be a starting-caliber 3 and D forward or guard drafted at or below where we pick. let's be the team that gets it right this time instead of the team wishing to trade three firsts for someone some other team drafted at this spot.

 

Agree, I like Jefferson too but everyone keeps talking about finding athletes to put around Luka and AR. Seems like OKC had a ton of these useful guys they just cycle through and I was watching the Cavs-Detroit highlights and Jaylon Tyson (20th pick) is a major part of their rotation now.

I also wonder if Jefferson ends up like Broome from last year. Not sure how much he’s playing in Philly?? And then there’s guys like Garza who are in the rotation for the C Bags when I thought he was on his way out of the league.

I guess role is major factor and I think there will be backup pf minutes next year whether Bron leaves and Rui slides into the starting spot or Bron stays (!) and we let Rui walk. Like others have mentioned, I think Ellis is gettable this summer which solves at least one upgrade in the starting lineup. I’m not sold on the center prospects this draft so wing makes the most sense to me to take a swing on.

 

what do you think of krivas? i watch arizona a fair amount, and sometimes i squint and see a kornet starter kit there.

 

I think Krivas has a pretty solid all around game. I like the whole Arizona team to be honest. He’s got a good touch around the hoop is 7-2 good court awareness, blocks shots, almost 80% ft and has some passing ability. I think hes starting to shoot the three a bit too. From what I’ve seen he’s not super aggressive offensively but he’d be a nice contrast to Jaxson Hayes off the bench. I wish we would draft and develop some bigs but seems like we always go for guards.

Another center that impressed me was Diop on Arizona state against Kansas. He's another 7 footer, really fluid, good handle, three point and mid range jumper is pretty smooth, blocks shots too. Main knock is that he’s pretty skinny and not the best rebounder.

There are some other interesting center projects in the second round like Chineylu, Bidunga, Mara/Veesar (not sure both will go first round). But Krivas is probably the most ready to step in and contribute.

 

yeah, i mentioned him because i actually think he might be able to play pretty quickly, and i think he's probably the best center prospect i've seen this year but isn't projected to go lotto.

would be hard to pass up on an athletic wing or guard, though.

 

If the choice is Carr v Swain in the 20s I’m leaning Carr. He's got serious range on his jumper with a quick trigger paired with a 4% block rate. Though Swain isn’t far off with a 3.1% stl rate and 2.2 blk rate for his career.

Let’s see who drops out of the lottery, maybe there might be someone I’m not considering. I know the draft is a real crapshoot but I think the best way to plug some of these gaps in the roster. It’s on JJ to play them though

 

i haven't watched swain much, but carr's athleticism popped a bit for me in the few minutes of a game i saw. he's notably fast.

he's not strong enough to be an impact player next year, but his upside is what if djj could really shoot it.

 

Thanks for the information. I haven't watched an ounce of college bball and probably won't this season. If anything, I do think there's a chance we keep our 26' pick especially if a player pops during worksouts that we like and think can contribute right away. IMO.

 

i think we need to stop worrying about immediate contribution. and i think drafting thiero last year indicates that we actually don't care that much about it.

it seems like because a handful of players have been really successful early, people lost patience, but i remember back in the day the line was that you never made too many judgments about players until after their third year (beginning of that year is when you usually know what you're working with).

we need to consolidate a little at the top (bring in two 25-30m per players to round out the starting group) and then really focus on using the bench (not just the g league) as a serious development tool. like, thiero really can't learn much from the g league, imo. but if you're jj and you've got vando--who has a lot of experience at this point and is a known quantity--and thiero--who's a raw rookie--down there and you need a big wing defender, you're going to naturally go with the vet. we need to take that choice away, to some extent.

anyway, i digress. yes, i think we should keep the pick and make it. hell, i'd consider trying to get another one in this draft if NIL doesn't reclaim too many. most draftniks are saying players 30-40 this year are first rounders most other years.

 

I wouldn't mind trying to get another pick in this draft either. I think its deep as well and having a guy like Bennett helping to evaluate these guys is even better.

 

I completely agree with this idea.

Obviously it’d take a couple of years for some of these players to be fully ready for the NBA, but IMO the Lakers do need to start the slow process of farming talent in-house sooner rather than later, in addition to the various other trades and free agency signings for more experienced players that they’ll be doing to build around Luka and AR for the immediate future.

 

i don't think the luka clock is as short as the nervous nellies do, and i also think that he's the kind of guy that can make the vet min hangers-on look good (like how the clips have kept batum on life support for five years), so it's ok to have some developmental projects getting minutes.

anyway, i hope this isn't like the jhs draft, where it was clear we were desperately trying to trade that pick instead of make a good one.