Looking back, the Los Angeles Lakers had high expectations heading into the 2014 free agency period. They had enough cap space that could quickly turn the team around after a prior abysmal season. The Lakers recruited superstars Carmelo Anthony and (to a lesser degree) LeBron James, pitching a historic franchise, great weather, and a chance to play with Kobe Bryant during his final years in the NBA.
But when Anthony re-signed with the Knicks for max money and James emotionally announced his return to Cleveland, the Lakers were left out in the cold. This was the first sign that the Lakers’ destiny was to rebuild, not to reload.
On July 13, 2014, the Lakers quietly made a move that would both benefit them both in the short-term and in the long-term. They traded with the Houston Rockets, acquiring guard Jeremy Lin and a future first round draft pick, as well as a second round draft pick that was originally owned by the Los Angeles Clippers. The Rockets acquired the rights to Sergei Lishouk, who currently plays overseas in Spain. Houston unloaded these assets in hope to clear space for superstar free agent Chris Bosh, which backfired when Bosh decided to return to Miami.
The Lakers hoped that Lin would bring some stability at point guard, joining oft-injured Steve Nash and unproven rookie Jordan Clarkson. Lin was set to provide some scoring, and maybe even bring remnants of “Linsanity” to Los Angeles. Lin’s career as a Laker is not going as well as initially expected, as he often clashes with coach Byron Scott and has inconsistent playing time, darting in and out of the starting lineup.
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Although Lin may not be a part of the Lakers’ future plans, the acquisition of Lin must be viewed as a success. The first round draft pick packaged with Lin is a great building block that will help build this team from the ground up. Most importantly, this pick is all but guaranteed to be with the Lakers when the draft comes on June 25 (the pick is lottery protected, but Houston won’t be in the lottery). The most compelling issue of this season is if the Lakers can maintain their other first round pick, which is currently owned by the Philadelphia 76ers. It is top-five protected, which means if the Lakers finish within the five worst teams in the NBA, they keep the pick. Currently the Lakers are the fourth-worst team in the NBA.
Even if the Lakers finish where they are, they are not guaranteed a top-five pick in this upcoming draft. Because the NBA Draft relies on a lottery system, teams that have bad records (but still better records than the Lakers) may surpass the Lakers in the lottery, knocking the Lakers out of the top five. If the Lakers keep losing, their odds of retaining the pick will be strengthened, but a disaster in the lottery can cause the Lakers to lose the pick altogether.
The Lakers don’t have to worry about losing their first rounder from Houston because that pick is top-14 protected. Houston is not going to finish within the bottom 14, as they are going to make the playoffs. The Lakers firmly have at least one first rounder of their own in this upcoming draft.
So as Lakers fans worry about if their team can keep the draft pick to acquire college stars Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns, they also should keep an eye on Houston. If Houston loses a few games down the stretch of this season, the Lakers draft pick could rise from the high 20’s to the low 20’s. This difference will provide the Lakers more options on what they can do with the pick and who they can draft.