Lakers Are Hoping to Trade Up in Draft : Basketball: They might send Campbell to the Bucks for the No. 8 pick today.

Should Jerry West take the guard he likes best, Jackson State’s Lindsey Hunter, or the rebounding forward his team needs most, North Carolina’s George Lynch?

Or will the Lakers’ general manager get Milwaukee’s No. 8 pick in today’s NBA draft so he can grab the player he wants most of all, 6-foot-11 Hartford forward Vin Baker?

Having plotted out what the teams ahead of him will do, West anticipates that Hunter, Lynch and sure-shooting Tennessee guard Allan Houston will be available if the Lakers keep the 12th pick. Baker, a good rebounder and ballhandler who can shoot from outside, is almost sure to be gone by then.

But if West gets his way--which opposing general managers complain happens too often--he will send forward Elden Campbell and the Lakers’ pick to the Bucks for the pick he would use to select Baker.

West said Tuesday a deal is still possible, adding that he intended to keep trying as long as league rules allow. The deadline for pre-draft trades is 11 a.m. PDT today, but trading can resume when the draft starts.

“Our first choice would be Vin Baker, by far,” West said. “We’d be ecstatic if we could get him.”

But if he can’t, the Lakers are looking at Houston, Hunter and Lynch. Seton Hall guard Terry Dehere, the Big East Conference’s all-time scoring leader, is also expected to be available but he ranks as a last alternative because of his inconsistent shooting and the Lakers’ abundance of guards.

At that point, West would have to weigh Hunter, the 6-2 guard with outstanding one-on-one moves and a Southwestern Conference-leading 26.7 scoring average as a senior, against the superb shooting of Houston, the Volunteers’ all-time scoring leader with 2,801 points.

Houston, the only Tennessee player to get 2,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists, shot 46% during his college career. Although his toughness has been questioned, the 6-6, 200-pound guard’s rebounding skills appeal to West, given the Lakers’ need for a rebounding guard.

And Lynch?

“You know what you’re getting when you take a (North) Carolina player,” West said. “Carolina players seem to do well in the pros.”

West projects him at power forward, although scouting reports suggest that at 6-8 and 218 pounds, Lynch might have to play small forward in the NBA.

“George Lynch would have to be someone we’d consider very, very seriously,” West said. “George Lynch is a better Tyrone Corbin. He doesn’t shoot as well as Corbin, but he’s a better rebounder.

“Allan Houston is a very talented player, but it would be very tough to pass up Lindsey Hunter, if our coaches feel we need a point guard. I personally love Lindsey Hunter. Can he play point guard in the NBA? I don’t know. You take him and you have a terrific player for a long while. . . .

“One thing I do like, and that’s athletic people, and there are some out there. It’s going to really be interesting.”