3 winners and losers of the shocking 2024 NBA Draft Lottery

Losers: Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic

With rumors swirling that the Los Angeles Lakers may make a move to acquire a third star this summer, the news that the Hawks will pick first was likely a gut punch. The reason is that the Lakers will probably expect Young and Murray to be available but that is no longer a given since the Hawks now have options.

Prior to the NBA draft lottery, they were staring down with an uncertain future since they didn't own their first-round picks for the next 3 years and were stuck as a borderline playoff team. Now, they can afford to wait a year and see how they look after adding a top prospect to this year's draft.

That obviously hurts the Lakers, who may instead have to turn their attention to Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell but they could be outbid for him with other teams also in need of point guard help. That may leave Los Angeles short on options to acquire a third star and potentially jeopardize their chances of bringing superstar LeBron James back since he'll be a free agent. Based on that, the Lakers were definitely one of these losers in the NBA draft lottery.

As for the Orlando Magic, they are also in the market for an upgrade, specifically at point guard and they might have been a Young landing spot. Unlike the Lakers, however, the Magic have other options, though not as good as they might have been for their up-and-coming roster.