On draft day 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers traded cash and a 2028 second-round draft pick to the Orlando Magic for the No. 35 pick, which was used on Michigan State University wing Max Christie. At the time, Christie was a poor outside shooter, but he had ample defensive potential, not to mention a solid work ethic and a good attitude.
While he eventually became a very useful player for the Lakers, there was reportedly another player they had their sights set on that year. Jovan Buha said in a recent episode of his “Buha’s Block” podcast that the franchise wanted to use that No. 35 pick on Andrew Nembhard.
“There is an alternate universe where he’s a Laker,” said Buha. “Because one fun fact is that the pick the Lakers used Max Christie on, they were hoping Nembhard was going to slip, but he went 31st to Indiana.”
Nembhard has emerged as a key complementary player for the Indiana Pacers. Last season, he averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 assists a game during the regular season, but he has been a different player in the playoffs. In two postseason appearances, he has shot 47.3% from 3-point range, as opposed to his career 33.5% accuracy from that distance.
Advertisement
He, like Christie, is a tenacious defender, but he may be a little more capable of making an impact on the offensive end. As a rookie, he hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to defeat the Lakers 116-115 at Crypto.com Arena.
In the end, had L.A. gotten its hands on Nembhard in 2022, it still may have ended up putting him into the trade back in February that brought it Luka Doncic. So perhaps it doesn’t matter that the team missed out on the opportunity to draft him.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Buha: Lakers wanted to draft Andrew Nembhard in 2022