One area the Los Angeles Lakers could use an upgrade or two in this summer is the frontcourt, particularly at the center position.
When Anthony Davis was on the bench, head coach Darvin Ham almost always went small with LeBron James or Rui Hachimura at the 5. That just will not be sustainable, not with Nikola Jokic and the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the way.
While the Lakers have the No. 17 and No. 47 picks in the upcoming draft, there is always the chance they find a gem among the undrafted free agents. One interesting potential undrafted free agent they recently worked out is Nathan Mensah.
A look at Mensah
Mensah played five seasons for San Diego State University, and at 6-foot-10 and 230 pounds, he is a legitimate big man. He is a good shot blocker and rim protector who averaged 1.6 blocks in 21.3 minutes a game during his time with the Aztecs.
The Ghana native can attack the boards; he grabbed 6.2 rebounds per contest for his career.
Offensively, he’s a strong finisher and a solid athlete. He can catch and finish inside of the paint, and he tends to perform well in pick-and-roll sets and when set up on lob passes.
He’s not exactly a big scorer, though. He never averaged double figures in scoring, but it looks like he’s a player who can occasionally benefit from set plays run for him, as well as garbage plays.
Mensah has no 3-point shot to speak of, and he’s a pretty poor free throw shooter, which could limit his potential at the next level. But he could be an interesting project player, perhaps in the G League.
