Lakers Draft Series: Cameron Carr First Thoughts
The Lakers traded up to add one of the draft's most intriguing athletes.
The first night of the 2026 NBA Draft passed surprisingly quietly. While several teams exchanged picks and shuffled draft positions, it was a rare draft night with virtually no player movement and no blockbuster trades stealing the spotlight.
There were few surprises at the very top, with AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer coming off the board in the expected top three spots. Things got a little more interesting later in the first round.
One of those surprises involved the Lakers. After trading with the Knicks to move up one spot, they selected Baylor guard Cameron Carr at No. 24, adding one of the draft's most intriguing athletic prospects.
I'm still on the road in Dublin, where a magnificent Teddy Swims concert last night earned me several bonus points with my wife. That bought me enough grace and free time to put together these first impressions from a hotel room, hence the notes-and-bullets format. I'll be back home tonight, and if Day 2 of the draft brings any interesting developments, we'll dive into them tomorrow.
Today’s highlights:
Big-picture takeaways from Day 1
The Lakers get an unexpected opportunity and bet on Carr's upside
Cameron Carr scouting report
Cameron Carr through the lens of historical comps
1-Big-picture takeaways from Day 1
Before we get to the Lakers' selection of Carr, here are some of my first thoughts after Day 1 of the draft:
The biggest surprise to me was that we didn’t see any major trades. After the Bucks and Heat finally completed the Giannis Antetokounmpo deal, the expectation was that it would clear the way for the next wave of transactions around the league. Instead, at least for one night, the NBA stayed unusually quiet.
The Lakers not making a deal was one of the notable developments. Draft night was a brief window in which they could have packaged three first-round picks by making the selection at No. 25 on behalf of another team. Instead, they kept the pick and, barring any surprises, added another young, athletic prospect to the roster after selecting Adou Thiero in the second round a year ago.
There were no surprises in the top three, with AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer coming off the board in that order. However, the Jazz selecting Peterson at No. 2 instead of adding another frontcourt player is notable for the Walker Kessler watch. Drafting Dybantsa or Boozer would have further crowded Utah's frontcourt and potentially made Kessler more expendable. Instead, the Jazz reinforced their backcourt, which adds a bit more clarity to their roster construction and makes a potential Lakers pursuit of Kessler in restricted free agency even more complicated.
The Nets drafted Mikel Brown Jr. at No. 6, adding another guard to an already crowded and extremely young backcourt that features multiple ball-handlers. It’s a selection worth noting as the Lakers monitor potential future suitors for Austin Reaves.
The Thunder selected Michigan big man Aday Mara at No. 12. We’ll see whether that decision has any impact on their upcoming team-option decision regarding Isaiah Hartenstein and, by extension, his potential availability this summer.
The Spurs doubled down on size by drafting two big men, Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed Jr., in the first round. It’s another strong signal of where they believe their biggest roster needs are and what type of frontcourt support they want around Victor Wembanyama.
The Mavericks selected Michigan big man Morez Johnson Jr. with the ninth pick. Johnson Jr. will be reunited with new Mavericks coach Dusty May, who certainly had significant influence on the selection. However, Dallas adding another frontcourt player to a group that already includes Cooper Flagg, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and P.J. Washington is another signal that more moves could be coming as Masai Ujiri begins putting his imprint on the roster around Flagg.
