true,” Thiero said during his media availability in New York. “Just happy to be here. Playing for the Lakers, too, that’s a blessing for sure.”

Moving up in the draft gave the Lakers the opportunity to add a young player to their roster who could provide an immediate impact, and there’s reason to believe Thiero can do so.

Thiero, 21, averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game during his junior season with the Razorbacks after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Kentucky. He played for Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer John Calipari for all three years of his college career.

Thiero’s father, Almamy, also played for Calipari at Memphis.

“Whatever Coach JJ (Redick) needs me to do, I’m ready to go out there and do it,” Thiero said. “Just put me on the floor, I got you, Coach.”

With a 7-foot wingspan, Thiero is considered an electric defensive playmaker, an aggressive offensive rebounder and a highlight-reel finisher at the rim, but he saw his value slip after sitting out a significant chunk of the past season because of a knee injury that also limited him some during the pre-draft process.

In his predraft analysis of Thiero, ESPN NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony wrote: “Thiero is perhaps the most explosive player in this draft, an event creator defensively who is a significant mismatch attacking in a straight line and the open court, drawing fouls in bunches and finishing in highlight-reel fashion; somewhat stuck between forward positions, Thiero is a work in progress with his skill level, feel for the game and defensive engagement. He struggled to make shots consistently and missed most of the predraft process with a lingering knee issue; Thiero showed significant progress as a junior, but will have to make strides with his shooting and overall consistency to play a role at the NBA level. His defensive upside is apparent given his physical tools, and his trajectory over his three collegiate seasons makes him an interesting developmental swing.”

Thiero went through a significant growth spurt during his late teenage years: he was listed at 5-10 as a freshman and sophomore at Quaker Valley High School (Leetsdale, Pennsylvania) and 6-1 as a junior before sprouting to 6-6 as a senior in high school. He was listed as 6-6 as a freshman and sophomore at Kentucky before being listed as 6-8 as a junior at Arkansas. Thiero measured 6-6¼ without shoes at the draft combine last month, suggesting he’s around 6-8 in shoes.

The transactions to acquire the No. 36 pick and eventually draft Thiero will hard-cap the Lakers at the second apron for 2025-26 because they used cash in a trade, meaning they won’t be allowed to exceed $207.8 million in player salaries for next season.

The Lakers weren’t expected to exceed the second apron, which is especially punitive for roster building. Using the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception, which they’re expected to do, also would hard-cap the Lakers at the second apron.

Although they have just eight players signed to guaranteed deals for the 2025-26 season, with those salaries combining for around $118.1 million, the Lakers will likely operate as a luxury-tax team, if not a first-apron team, once decisions on player and team options are made.

Forwards LeBron James ($52.6 million) and Dorian Finney-Smith ($15.4 million) have player options for the 2025-26 season with deadlines of Sunday. Jordan Goodwin also has a $2.3 million team option with a deadline of next week.

If all three of those players return to the team as expected on similar salaries as their options, the Lakers will likely eclipse the luxury-tax threshold of $187.9 million — but also be under the first apron threshold of $195.9 million – and have just 11 players signed — three fewer than the league-mandated minimum.

The Brooklyn Nets entered Thursday with the No. 36 pick before trading it to the Phoenix Suns for two future second-round picks. A few hours later, before the second round started, the Suns traded the No. 36 pick and a pair of future second-round picks to the Timberwolves for pick No. 31, with Minnesota eventually trading the No. 36 pick to the Lakers.

LAKERS SIGN DIXON

The Lakers signed former Villanova star Eric Dixon to a two-way contract, his agency CSE Talent announced.

Dixon, a 6-foot-8, 255-pound forward, signed shortly after going undrafted.

Dixon led the NCAA in scoring last season (23.3 points per game) to go with 5.1 rebounds as a sixth-year player, earning third-team All-American honors and being named first-team All-Big East.

Dixon finished his college career as Villanova’s all-time leading scorer (2,314 points).