Los Angeles Lakers: 5 options for pick No. 4 in 2019 NBA Draft

The Los Angeles Lakers made a leap on lottery night to the fourth pick. Which players should they consider in the 2019 NBA Draft?

The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night with a 9.4 percent chance of leaping into the top four. If they finished in the same slot for 10 straight years, we would’ve expected them to make the jump up just once. To cap off a week of unlikely basketball happenings, the Lakers hit their one-in-10 on their first shot.

It was evident early on, as ESPN‘s Rachel Nichols did a great job immediately acknowledging that the Lakers would be making the leap even as NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum raced through the picks. It was a night of chaos, as the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans joined the Lakers in making unlikely leaps.

Ultimately Kyle Kuzma and his “lucky jacket” only got the Lakers so far, and they were slotted in fourth. That’s certainly a marked improvement from 11th, but for a brief moment, visions of Zion Williamson in purple-and-gold floated before the eyes of Lakers fans worldwide.

Now that the dust has settled, and Zion is likely heading for beignets and jazz, the Lakers can turn their gaze to the rest of this draft’s elite prospects. Williamson will go first, and Ja Morant is likely to go either second or third. What players after those two will be available to choose? And assuming the pick isn’t packaged in a trade for Anthony Davis, who should the Lakers target?