"The Lakers waited for more than three hours Thursday toa player in the NBA draft, but felt the wait was worth it when they found Darius Morris of Michigan still available at No. 41 in the second round.

Morris, a 6-foot-5 guard, had been projected to go in the first round after two solid seasons at Michigan, so Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was surprised to see his name still on the board.

"Darius is a very gifted with the ball in his hands," Kupchak said. "He looks to pass first."

Morris, who played high school basketball at Windward of Los Angeles, is considered to have solid passing skills and possesses a powerful first step despite not having great foot speed.

He can create mismatches against smaller point guards ... that is, if he gets a chance to play in new coach Mike Brown's offense.

"I need to work on my 3-point shot. I plan to attack and work hard on that in the offseason, get it together," Morris said in a conference call.

With guard Shannon Brown expected to explore free agency, Kupchak said earlier the Lakers were going to focus on finding backcourt talent in the draft, so with their second pick in the second round they took guard Andrew Goudelock, the Southern Conference Player of the Year from the College of Charleston."