Lakers Need Top Draft Choices To Become Contenders Again
By Hannah Kulik
It is no secret that the NBA teams on top right now are the ones who in recent years made smart draft choices and key free agent acquisitions. It is the combination of both that makes for a contender. Certainly the Lakers will need to draft well and sign free agents in order to become relevant again. Free agency will take care of itself this summer, though it might be difficult for the Lakers to attract top free agents until they improve the supporting cast of players. That means the focus should be on the draft.
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As of now, the Lakers will have two draft choices this off-season, one a top five pick and the other a low first round choice. If they were to trade any of their existing players before the draft, they would likely net only a second round selection. This raises the question: just how valuable is a low first round or a high second round draft choice? The answer is, not very.
In recent years, the Lakers’ second round draft choices have included players such as Ryan Kelly (2013), Darius Johnson-Odom (2012), Robert Sacre (2012), Darius Morris (2011), Andrew Goudelock (2011), and Devin Ebanks (2010). Given this illustrious list, either the Lakers are really bad at evaluating collegiate talent or second round choices rarely amount to much. As for Jordan Clarkson, who was a mid-second round selection, although he shows promise, let’s not get ahead of ourselves: It is very premature to think that he will one day become an elite NBA point guard rivaling the likes of Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Goran Dragic, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Tony Parker, Ty Lawson, Kyle Lowry, and Eric Bledsoe.
The only first round picks the Lakers have exercised in recent memory are Julius Randle this past year, Jordan Farmar in 2006, and Andrew Bynum in 2005. Bynum and Farmar are no longer playing in the NBA. Randle was hurt in his first game and has not played, thus it is impossible to judge the path his career will take.
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If the Lakers are going to contend for a championship in the future they will need at least two All-Star caliber players, which is easier said than done. In reviewing the list of Western Conference All-Stars who played this past weekend, seven of the twelve players on the team were chosen in the top five of their draft classes. Eleven of the twelve players were selected from the top eleven picks in the first round. The only player on the team drafted lower than number eleven was Marc Gasol, a Spainard who the Lakers drafted and wanted to stash in Europe to improve.
The reality is, with few exceptions, the best NBA players are all top draft choices. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and Tim Duncan were the first players selected in their respective draft classes. Kevin Durant was drafted second. So was LaMarcus Aldridge. James Harden was drafted third, and Paul and Westbrook were selected fourth. DeMarcus Cousins was drafted fifth, Lillard sixth, and Curry seventh.
All of this means that while it is nice to have a lot of draft choices, what really matters is having top draft choices. Furthermore, the Lakers will have to do a better job evaluating prospective draftees than they have done in the past ten years. The last thing they need is to waste a choice on someone who underachieved.
The Showtime Lakers were built in large measure on the talents of Magic Johnson and James Worthy, both drafted number one coming out of college. Kobe Bryant, a 17-year old arriving in the NBA straight from high school, was the thirteenth overall pick in 1996. Since 1996, when the Lakers selected Bryant and Derek Fisher, it is fair to say they have not drafted very wisely.
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In short, for a team rebuilding from the bottom like the Lakers, high first round picks are the ones that matter, and on that score the Lakers have no present prospects for acquiring another top choice before the next draft. The fan base is frustrated, but there are no quick, easy fixes for this team and fans will have to be patient. The cupboard is completely empty right now and it is going to take a few years, at a minimum, until the organization has built an entire new team to the point that it can even make the playoffs let alone contend for a title.
To start, that means surviving the rest of this season with a terrible team that may not win another game. The Lakers should have one top draft pick with which to select a highly ranked college player to team with a returning (and hopefully healthy) Randle and Clarkson. For the foreseeable future, high draft choices are the key, which means the Lakers must pray that Randle is not injury prone and proves to be the top flight player they expected, and that they choose wisely with the draft choices they do have.