NBA Draft: Lakers’ pre-draft photo gallery

Lakers pre-draft workout at Toyota Sports Center Wednesday June 4, 2014.       Photo By  Robert Casillas / Daily Breeze

Lakers pre-draft workout at Toyota Sports Center Wednesday June 4, 2014. Photo By Robert Casillas / Daily Breeze

You read about the Mitch Kupchak’s non-update on the Lakers’ coaching search and his positive outlook on the NBA Draft. You read about UCLA guard Zach LaVine setting a Lakers pre-draft workout record with a 46-inch vertical jump. You read about Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart trying to shed off the questions surrounding his shoving incident last season by impressing teams with his stellar play.

But pictures always tell a 1,000 words. And in the case of LANG’s photo gallery of the Lakers’ pre-draft workouts on Wednesday at the practice facility in El Segundo, plenty of his images tell various stories.

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NBA Draft: UCLA’s Zach LaVine sets Lakers pre-draft workout record with 46-inch vertical jump


Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart to work out with Lakers, eager to show his maturity

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com

NBA Draft: Zach LaVine sets Lakers workout record with 46-inch vertical

Lakers pre-draft workout at Toyota Sports Center Wednesday June 4, 2014.  Zach LaVine, UCLA.      Photo By  Robert Casillas / Daily Breeze

Lakers pre-draft workout at Toyota Sports Center Wednesday June 4, 2014. Zach LaVine, UCLA. Photo By Robert Casillas / Daily Breeze

For all the question marks that follow him as he treks his way through pre-draft workouts, UCLA freshman guard Zach LaVine strongly showcased something that has become awfully familiar.

The guy can jump. Very high. So high that he set a Lakers pre-draft workout record on Wednesday with a 46-inch vertical jump. This happened nearly three weeks after tying for the third-best vertical leap (41.5″) at the NBA pre-draft combine in Chicago.

“I’m going in to win a spot,” LaVine said with a grin. “I’ve gone higher than that before, but, yeah. “I think I was pumped a little bit. You know, the Lakers.”

But he also believes he can crack an NBA roster based on other attributes, too. LaVine continuously touted his one-on-one and off-ball defense, ball handling and playmaking abilities.

“I feel like I’m ready to contribute,” LaVine said. “I feel like I have a great skillset. Tell me anything you need me to do and I’ll go do it. What else has been helping me is they can see me on the ball. They can see me create plays on and off the ball, break my man down and play one on one. That’s my game. It definitely helps me out. From an athletic standpoint as well, I try to showcase that as much as I can.”
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