No. 2 Will Do For Los Angeles Lakers
After months of anxious waiting, the Los Angeles Lakers secured the No. 2 overall pick in June’s draft Tuesday night. Now the choice is simple: take whoever the Philadelphia 76ers don’t.
Los Angeles Lakers fans went into yet another NBA draft lottery with nervous excitement.
On one end, the Lakers faced the exciting opportunity to have yet another top-three pick in a 2016 draft class with great talent at the top.
On the other hand, the team faced the terrifying possibility of losing the pick altogether as it was only top-three protected and would be awarded to the Philadelphia 76ers if it fell out of that range.
The fate of the Lakers’ future was at stake Tuesday night in New York — and fortunately, the team’s prayers were answered.
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While the Lakers didn’t win the grand prize of the top pick, they managed to hold on to theirs and earn the literal next-best thing with the second overall pick in the draft for the second consecutive year.
Now that the nerve-racking part is over, the actual draft choice is rather simple: take whoever the team with the No. 1 pick, the Philadelphia 76ers, doesn’t.
Unlike last year’s draft, there’s no dark horse third choice to sneak up and earn the second selection a la D’Angelo Russell.
There are two clear favorites atop the 2016 NBA Draft class: LSU forward Ben Simmons and Duke forward Brandon Ingram.
The consensus at this point in the draft process is that Simmons will hear his name called first come June, which means that the selection for the Lakers would in all likelihood be Ingram.
This actually works out better for Los Angeles as Ingram is a player who could fill the void on the perimeter without having to blow up the solid young core they’ve built.
Ingram would fit seamlessly with the trio of Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle as a potent three-point shooter with defensive versatility and the ability to create his own shots.
If by some chance the Sixers become infatuated with Ingram (who actually would fit with their current roster as well), drafting Simmons could give the Lakers a superstar-level talent with LeBron James as his potential ceiling.
Luke Walton could maximize Simmons’ passing and ballhandling skills in the way that his mentor Steve Kerr did with Draymond Green, utilizing him as a secondary facilitator and a threat in the pick and roll with Russell.
However, adding Simmons to the roster would present a challenge as he and current power forward Julius Randle have similar builds and playing styles. Drafting the former may mean having to find a way to deal the latter.
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Either way, the Lakers were the real winners of Thursday night’s lottery and will get the chance to add yet another building block in their quest to rebuild themselves into the championship-level product fans in Southern California are used to seeing.