The Los Angeles Lakers took the court on Super Bowl Sunday, and looked anything but super in getting ripped by the lowly New York Knicks. In the standings, this means adding another loss to a tough season. For the future of the franchise, however, it was a big win.
By this point in the season, most everyone knows that it is in the Los Angeles Lakers’ best interest to be as miserable as possible in order to keep their top-five protected pick that’s due to the Phoenix Suns. Aside from developing point guard Jordan Clarkson, racking up losses makes the most sense for a team looking to add young talent at every position.
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The Lakers rank as the fourth-worst team in the NBA in terms of record, and are sitting fairly well in their hopes of staying in the top-five worst records in the league. This is great news because, if the Los Angeles Lakers can keep their draft choice, they will find themselves in a no-lose situation due to the quality of the top of the 2015 NBA Draft class.
In desperate need of consistent scoring down-low, it’s possible that the team could land the highly touted Jahlil Okafor. Scouts are pegging this guy as a 20 and 10 center in the league, and those who have watched him at Duke know exactly why. Pairing him with Julius Randle would give the Lakers a 1-2 punch in the paint for years to come, and jumpstart the rebuilding process.
If they can’t land the first overall pick, the Los Angeles Lakers can still take a look at the rebounding and shot-blocking machine Karl-Anthony Towns out of Kentucky, or even his teammate Willie Cauley-Stein, a player who looks to be a fantastic defensive centerpiece for years to come. Other players like Texas’ Myles Turner should be available, loaded with talent even if they project as something of a work-in-progress.
Perhaps the Lakers will decide to get some help at the guard positions, should they retain their draft choice. Emmanuel Mudiay, currently playing professionally in China, is one of my personal favorites at the point guard slot. He’s a big guard that looks like he’ll be able to post triple-double type of stats once he gets acclimated to the league, and would give the Lakers their first true point guard in a great while.
As an alternative to Mudiay, the Los Angeles Lakers may consider grabbing one of the hotter names in the draft pool: D’Angelo Russell out of Ohio State University. He’s shown his multifaceted game off as of late, but has been one of the more explosive scorers in the college game during conference play. He’s a fantastic shooter, and could be the eventual replacement for Kobe Bryant as a wing scorer for the forum blue and gold.
Aside from these prospects, there are intriguing options on the wing such as Justise Winslow of Duke, or Stanley Johnson of Arizona. Either of these players would be an easy upgrade over Wesley Johnson, the starter for most of the season, and would hopefully end the Ryan Kelly small forward experience.
Whatever direction the Lakers decide to go in, should they keep their pick, there are tons of holes to fill and plenty of players to fill them. So, as long as the Los Angeles Lakers keep losing, they’ll find themselves in a no-lose situation soon enough.