Kansas Basketball: Svi Mykhailiuk can help turn Lakers around

Svi Mykhailiuk has a chance to be part of a big turnaround in Los Angeles. If he continues to play like he did for Kansas Basketball, he will have a major role.

Kansas Basketball has had many great shooters come in and out of Lawrence. Svi Mykhailiuk is one of those shooters. What sets him apart? He may be the best shooter the Jayhawks have ever had.

Now a member of the Lakers, he has a new role and a new challenge. Unlike his playing days for Kansas Basketball, the LA Lakers have not been a part of winning ways lately. Their roster seems to have five to eight new guys suited up each year, meaning the Lakers have lacked any type of connection or bond between players.

Svi has the charm and skillset to help change the atmosphere of the Lakers franchise. He is a tremendous teammate and appears to be quite fun to hang out with.

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The Lakers selected Svi with the 47th overall pick. The last couple seasons Los Angeles has struggled from beyond the arc, something that Svi can help immediately.

Lakers fans should look at Svi as a Robert Horry type of player. He is a dependable option for the big shot. He can go off in spurts, creating 10 point runs simply with a few heaves from outside. He has a good eye for the open man and drives the lane fairly easily.

Possibly his next biggest attribute other than his deep threat is his ability to play every role in a fast break. He’s more athletic than a Horry, so he can find more ways of scoring. Svi also has no regard for his body as he sacrifices himself going for loose balls. He’s a scrappy ballplayer with a huge upside.

The Lakers are very young, with pieces being put in place for a hopeful long run of talent. There are still chances for the Lakers to bring in a Lebron James this offseason, as well as a more likely chance to bring a veteran leader like Paul George.

As of now, Svi isn’t looking at a starting spot. He could change all that by the end of Summer league. A shooting guard while at Kansas, he currently has Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart, and Andre Ingram ahead of him on the roster. If he continues to shoot like Kansas fans know he can, he will move up the depth chart at a rapid pace.

Caldwell-Pope has the starting job down pat at the moment, as his numbers are good enough to keep his spot at just over 13 points per game. Hart is a good contributor off the bench at 8 points per game. Ingram has only played in two NBA games but averaged 12 points over those two games.

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Svi should be a major part of the turnaround that is on the horizon for one of the elite franchises in all of sports.

*Note: All statistics are credited to basketball-reference.com

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