Rookie Josh Hart believes he can be a lockdown defender for the Lakers

The young Los Angeles Lakers are desperate for good defensive players, and Villanova Senior Josh Hart believes he can help the Purple & Gold establish a defensive identity in the forthcoming NBA season. The Lakers drafted Hart with the No. 30 overall pick in Thursday's draft after sending the No. 28 pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for the shooting guard and the No. 42 pick (Thomas Bryant).

The Lakers also received the No. 27 pick from the Brooklyn Nets as part of the D'Angelo Russell trade earlier in the week. The new front office, led by president Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, were targeting shooters and defensive-minded players with the three late draft picks. They drafted Kyle Kuzma with the No. 27 pick.

Defence remains a major issue for the Lakers, who finished the 2016-17 season dead last in Opp. Field Goal Percentage (.483), Points Differential (-6.9) and Defensive Efficiency. In fact, they have been the worst defensive team in the league for three consecutive seasons.

Josh Hart on going to Lakers: 'Magic saw a winner in me’

Besides inspiring the Villanova Wildcats to the NCAA championship in 2016, Hart led the team to the Big East Regular Season championship during all four seasons in college. He also won the Big East Tournament on two occasions (2015, 2017) and was named the Big East Player of the Year in 2017.

Hart believes that his success in college gave the Lakers enough reason to draft him. "I think (my college success) played a big part in me getting drafted by the Lakers. It is something that gets overlooked a lot (since teams pick young players based on upside)," Hart told ESPN SportsCenter a day after his name was called in the 2017 NBA Draft. "My winning background is something that Magic (Johnson) talked about right away when I met him."

Josh Hart: The ideal 3-and-D player for the Lakers

At 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds with a 6-foot-8 wingspan, Hart has good size and length for the two-guard position. Having drawn comparisons to New York Knicks wing Courtney Lee, Hart can be the prototypical 3-and-D player that can guard multiple positions and knock down three-pointers on a regular basis. Hart improved his three-point shooting percentage from .357 as a Junior to .404 as a Senior in college.

When asked how the four-year college stint in Villanova helped him prepare for the NBA, Hart said, "It helped me mature, on and off the court. It helped me with intensity and attention to detail. And laser focus. That's the mental side. From a physical side, it helped me get stronger and faster. But it’s the mental side that I got most out of college. Basketball is 89% mental.

"I love the consistency in my jump shot. I just want to keep working on that. And I want to be a lockdown defender. I think I'm already a pretty good defender. I'm going to be guarding some of the best players in the world and want to make an impact right away. I am going to be my toughest critic and see where that gets me."

During his fourth and final season in college, Josh Hart averaged 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.5 steals while shooting 51 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. Meanwhile, there is still a possibility of Lakers pulling off a Paul George trade this summer. With Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and possibly Paul Georg on board, the Lakers could prove to be an attractive destination for free agents in the summer of 2018.