Vujacic Loses First Choice

As Sasha Vujacic held up his new Laker jersey -- No. 18 -- the team’s first-round draft pick was asked what his favorite number was.

“I always used to wear No. 8,” Vujacic said.

The Lakers can only hope that number will still belong to Kobe Bryant when the NBA’s 2004-05 season begins.

Whatever number Vujacic wears, the Lakers don’t expect him to play much at first. Even though Vujacic, 20, stands 6 feet 6 and is listed at 193 pounds, General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Tuesday the Lakers’ newest player has a ways to go to be able to withstand the rigors of NBA play.

“We feel he’s a young ball-handling guard who can play some minutes at the ‘two’ position,” said Kupchak, referring to shooting guard. “Hopefully as he gets older and stronger, he can be more versatile than that. But he is young.

“We started watching him two years ago. With all the young players who are eligible for the draft today, you have to project. What jumps out at you? No. 1, he’s tall. He’s a good shooter who can become a better shooter. He likes the ball in his hands, he has a flair for the exciting. But defensively he has to work; that may be his biggest challenge.”

For his part, Vujacic, who was born in Slovenia and has spent the last three seasons in the Italian league, said it was “incredible to be part of a big team and a big society like the Lakers are.”

But he doesn’t sound overwhelmed about trying to make the jump from Europe to the NBA.

“I like the challenge, and the Lakers are a big challenge for me,” said Vujacic, who showed a reasonable grasp of English. “But I think the Italian league is one of the strongest leagues in Europe, so it gave me a lot to experience. I was one of the youngest players there, but I did some growing up.”