Best Forward Options for the Lakers in the NBA Draft
Last year, the Lakers went with a Forward in the first round of the draft, landing the sharpshooting Dalton Knecht, who showed flashes of being a prolific scorer throughout the course of the season.
The Lakers may not have a first-round pick this year, but the team looking for another wing in the draft with the 55th overall pick is not out of the question. The Lakers struggled with bench production from that spot in the playoffs, and finding a gem late in the draft could solve some of those problems. Here are the best options for the Lakers that they could look to.
John Tonje – Wisconsin
All it takes to be intrigued by John Tonje is to see some of his numbers from his Senior year. The 6’5 wing averaged 19.6 points and five rebounds on 46/38/90 shooting splits for a Wisconsin team that was consistently ranked in the top 25.
John Tonje- Corner/EmptySide Drives.
Decent corner shooter (38%) who took advantage of all the second side opps Greg Gard’s offense creates.
Has good east-west moves when driving and a good handle. Important to show his skills in likely NBA role.
One of my favorite role bets pic.twitter.com/gHvmaZ5mN0
— Joe (@JoeHulbertNBA) June 9, 2025
Simply put, Tonje is a bucket getter. He can score at all three levels and got to the line just shy of 7 times per game, an impressive mark for anyone in the college game. Tonje’s best performances included scoring outbursts of 41, 33, 32, 31, and an impressive 37 points in the NCAA tournament against BYU.
Tonje is not a great on-ball defender, but he is competent as a help defender and an overall team defender, while being able to rebound well for his position. Despite his high volume of touches, he averaged just 1.8 APG, but the Lakers have Luka Doncic and LeBron James to take care of playmaking for others.
NBA Playstyle Comparison: JR Smith
Sion James – Duke
Sion James is almost a complete 180 from John Tonje in terms of play style. James prides himself defensively, and at 6’5, he has shown the ability to guard 1-3, which could be his ticket into an NBA rotation.
Offensively, James still has a lot to develop. He shot less than two threes a game his Senior year at Duke, although he did shoot 41%. The ball does not stick with James, as he averaged 3 assists a game, but has not shown the ability to be a primary creator. He does handle the ball well and limits turnovers.
The Lakers already have a couple of perimeter defenders in Jared Vanderbilt and Dorian Finney-Smith, but you can never have enough in the modern NBA.
NBA Playstyle Comparison: Keon Ellis & Davion Mitchell
RJ Luis Jr – St. John’s
Any team in the second round has to take a look at the reigning Big East Player of the Year, RJ Luis Jr. He embodies St. John’s and Rick Pitino’s style of play, as he is extremely physical defensively and wants to score inside the arc on offense.
Luis averaged 18 points and 7 rebounds a game. Standing at 6’7, he has the ability to play the three or be a small-ball four who can bang down low with bigger guys. He also averaged 1.4 steals per game.
There are efficiency and decision making issues with Luis Jr though, and they reared their ugly head when he shot 3/17 against Arkansas in the NCAA tournament, which led him to being benched in crunch time.
He is a jack of all trades, master of none type of player. But the Lakers could mold him into a guy who focuses on defense and shooting open shots to contribute.
NBA Playstyle Comparison: Josh Hart
