Who should the Lakers pick with No. 55? Mr. Pei has tried out two center forwards, one of whom was beaten by Yang Hansen

On May 26, Beijing time, there is still a month before the draft, who should the Lakers with the No. 55 pick choose? The latest reports show that the Lakers have tried out at least three rookies, two of whom are centers. The Lakers need to strengthen at the center position, and in addition to the way they trade, the draft is also a path that Pelinka will focus on.

The two centers that the Lakers tried out for, one is Johnson of Connectivity, who is 2.08 meters tall. Johnson played four seasons at UConn and is the player with the most wins in UConn history. In the 2024-25 season, he started all 34 games he played in UConn, averaging 19.4 minutes per game, contributing 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. Johnson's draft market is average, and his name is not on the prediction draft list on the NBA draft website, and he is in danger of not being selected. Many Lakers fans complained that his rebounding ability was not good.

Another center from the Lakers' tryout is Goulding from the University of Michigan, who is 2.16 meters tall and will play in 37 games in the 2024-25 season, also starting all of them, averaging 27.5 minutes per game, contributing 16.6 points, 7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. Prior to the joint tryout, Goulding was ranked 51st in the projection pick, but after the tryout, his name has disappeared from the NBA draft's predicted draft list.

It is worth mentioning that Goulding once played against Yang Hansen in a joint tryout. In that game, Young scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Goulding scored just four points on 1-of-6 shooting. Previously, some Los Angeles media suggested that the Lakers pay attention to Yang Hansen, hoping to select the Chinese insider, but judging from Yang Hansen's current draft market, it may be difficult for the Lakers to use the No. 55 pick to get him.

Another non-interior player the Lakers recently tried out for was Kentucky guard Lamont Butler. He's also an older rookie, playing four years in college, averaging 11.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in his senior season, shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range, with the draft pick expected to be in the late second round.

Who will the Lakers pick with the No. 55 pick? Will Pelinka trade up for a better draft opportunity? Let's wait and see.