GOOD AS GOLD FORMER TAFT HIGH AND UCLA POINT GUARD FARMAR IS THE LAKERS' NO. 1 PICK.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - As hard as it was to leave UCLA after coming up one game short of a national championship in April, Jordan Farmar couldn't have scripted a better ending once his name was called on draft night.

From starring at Taft High of Woodland Hills to being one of Ben Howland's first building blocks in Westwood, Farmar now will stay at home to start his professional basketball career.

The Lakers took Farmar with the No. 26 pick in the first round of Wednesday's draft, leaving the 19-year-old guard nearly speechless at the prospect of playing for his hometown team.

``Words can't even express it,'' Farmar said, later adding, ``It's a perfect situation.''

The Lakers made a pair of trades late in the draft, sending their second-round pick, Senegalese center Chieck Samb, to Detroit for guard Maurice Evans. They also traded a 2007 second-round pick to Dallas for the draft rights of George Washington guard J.R. Pinnock.

Evans, a third-year guard, played in 80 games for the Pistons last season and has a defensive aggressiveness that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak liked. Evans signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract with Detroit last September.

Farmar was the highest-ranked player left on the Lakers' draft board, having worked out a second time for the team Tuesday. As fate would have it, Farmar sprained an ankle not soon after an assistant coach told him the only thing he had to do was not get hurt.

``That was the scariest moment of my life,'' said Farmar, who next will play with the Lakers' summer-league team. ``But I walked it off and I'm OK. And he was right. Everything worked out.''

Kupchak said he expected Farmar to be selected five or six picks earlier. Kupchak also cautioned against the expectations sure to greet Farmar as a Laker.

``I would say we'd have a fair assessment in two years on what kind of player he's going to be,'' Kupchak said. ``We'll still look to add a player in our backcourt (in free agency). Maybe somebody that we know is a little bit more proven versus a young player.''

For his part, Farmar said he had no expectations of a role as a rookie. He listed getting stronger and working to become a ``lock-down defender'' as his two biggest areas for improvement.

The Lakers started Smush Parker opposite Kobe Bryant in the backcourt last season and have another young guard in Sasha Vujacic. Farmar is a classic ball-handler and passer, though he is a streak shooter and turnover-prone.

He also rated as one of the best athletes at the NBA's pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla., with a 40-plus-inch vertical jump. Then there were the intangibles to his game that Kupchak cited Wednesday.

``He comes from a winning program,'' Kupchak said. ``He understands how to play the game. He plays really hard. He works to make other players better. So those are all key qualities for a young player.''

Farmar was asked how important UCLA 3/8s NCAA Tournament run was to improving his draft stock.

``I think it was important that it just gave me the chance to play in big-time situations and be seen in those situations,'' Farmar said. ``The longer you're there, the more you're seen while other people are at home and the stakes get higher and higher.''

Kupchak said he spoke several times leading up to the draft with Howland, who issued a statement Wednesday through the school. Howland praised Farmar as ``an outstanding point guard, who, No. 1, is a winner.''

``Like all great point guards, he makes his teammates better,'' Howland said. ``His ability to score and make big plays at the end of games truly makes Jordan a special player. He's a very, very intelligent player who also has great athleticism and skill level.''

Farmar grew up a Lakers fan -- ``You can't live here and not be a fan,'' he said -- and added that he chose to play at UCLA in order to stay close to his mother and sister. They were on his mind Wednesday after he was picked.

``I get to stay close to them for a little bit longer,'' Farmar said. ``No one knows how long it'll last, but it's good right now and I'm going to make the best of it.''

Farmar is fondly remembered at Taft, where he packed the school's tiny gym and led the Toreadors to their first City Section championship as a senior. Taft coach Derrick Taylor said he knew Farmar was special as soon as he saw him as a ninth-grader.

``When we heard he was going to the Lakers, and staying close to home, we couldn't believe it,'' Taylor said. ``I was numb. It's just the best-case scenario. Now I'm going to have save up all my pennies and purchase some season tickets.''

Sean Ceglinsky contributed.

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Photo:

(color) Jordan Farmar will take his game from Pauley Pavilion in Westwood to Staples Center. The Lakers drafted the UCLA guard No. 26 overall.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

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