Lakers Not Giving Away Top 5 Pick
After Kobe Bryant broke Michael Jordan’s scoring record, the Lakers modified their seasonal goals. Behind them was the stirring tribute to their 19-year veteran Hall of Famer with all of its nostalgia and emotion. In front of them was their future and the timing could not have been more perfect. It gave the Lakers the luxury of turning the page early in the season whereas the brilliance of one athlete became the mediocrity of ten. In other words, keeping their top 5 pick was suddenly the center of everything.
This season, the Lakers have been particularly beautiful at losing consistently and continuously. Bryant broke Jordan’s record on December 14th. Since that night in Minnesota, the Lakers are 5-24, including a 9 game losing streak. They are currently in a 6 game losing streak.
Still, the Lakers have the 4th worst record in the NBA. They are one game behind the 76ers for the 3rd worst record, and 3 games behind the Knicks for the overall worst record. But, the Knicks just shelved Carmelo Anthony and without him this season, the Knicks have yet to win a game.
The Goran Dragic and Reggie Jackson sweepstakes have entrenched the Lakers in possibilities. Get either player now and you acquire his “Bird” rights. You can offer them more money than anyone else in free agency and you can go over the cap to do so. But there is a point in which you draw the line, when acquiring either player is too expensive.
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According to Ramona Shelburne (ESPN), Phoenix is willing to deal with the Lakers if the Lakers are willing to change their protected draft pick to unprotected and trade it for Dragic. The Lakers would be left with just one first rounder, the draft pick they received from the Rockets in the Jeremy Lin trade, a low 20’s pick.
Phoenix is in this mess for a reason. They drafted Tyler Ennis and then signed Isaiah Thomas in the summer, creating a four guard backcourt. Someone was destined to be unhappy. The one player they didn’t want to offend was the one player who could flee, Goran Dragic. But they offended him anyway. A lack of loyalty does that.
Goran Dragic will play wherever the Suns trade him although he won’t agree to a long term deal if the team isn’t the Lakers, Knicks or Heat.
Because of that stark reality, because there is a player the Lakers want who wants them, because they have the money to give Dragic come summer, because they are buyers and not sellers, the Lakers leverage is exponentially high. They can keep what they want and let a desperate Suns team try to fix this self-inflicted wound.
Bill Duffy, Dragic’s agent, is not going to marginalize Dragic’s influence by making promises to teams who think they can convince Dragic to stay long term. That said, the Rockets and Celtics and Kings will make a play for Dragic even when he doesn’t want to play there. It’s just 30 games and then he has his freedom. It’s just 30 games and the Lakers will still have their top 5 protected pick. And an interested Goran Dragic waiting in the wings.