Just over one week ago, the Lakers were in a state of disarray. The team just finished with a record of 21-61, their worst record in franchise history. Even though the Lakers played bad basketball for about 6 months, there was still a sliver of hope Lakers ownership, fans, etc. still held onto. Because the Lakers were very bad, the team had an opportunity to land a top pick in the NBA Draft. They would have an opportunity to land a young star, something the Lakers badly needed. The only caveat in this situation was that the Lakers first round pick was top-five protected, and if the pick fell outside the top five, the pick would go to Philadelphia.
-== Top 10 Lakers Draft Picks of All-Time ==-
When the Lakers beat Philadelphia back on March 30, their fate was set heading into the lottery. The Lakers ended up finishing fourth-worst in the NBA standings, meaning that the Lakers had an 11.9% chance of landing the top pick, a 37.8% chance to finish in the top 3, and most importantly, a 17.2% chance of losing the pick to Philadelphia Sixers. But everyone involved with the Lakers already knew all of this; this was all we could talk about. There was simply nothing worthy enough in the Lakers season to cling onto except to count down the days until the season was over and wait for the lottery selection date (May 19). Yes, Jordan Clarkson, who was recently named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team was a great find in last year’s draft and will hopefully be a part of the Lakers future plans, but cannot be relied upon to be built around. This potential top 5 selection could indeed be a franchise building block.
Finally, after many months of waiting, May 19th rolled around, and the Lakers could finally found out if their historically bad season was worth anything. All the Lakers could look forward to for the last 6 months finally came in a 30-minute, nerve-wracking, adrenaline-pumping event televised by ESPN that previewed Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Lottery draft parties filled bars and restaurants in Los Angeles, something Lakers fans aren’t used to. For the longest time, the Lakers success was controlled by the likes of superstars such as Kobe Bryant, but now the Lakers success was determined by pure luck. All Mitch Kupchack, Jim Buss, me and you could do was cross our fingers and hope for the best. The Lakers future was held together in a shiny envelope that was soon revealed by NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum.
When the sixth pick was announced to be the Sacramento Kings, Lakers Nation finally could exhale and breathe a sigh of relief. Soon after, the Orlando Magic was revealed to have the 5th pick, and surprisingly, the New York Knicks finished with the 4th pick, causing some “awws” and groans from the New York-heavy crowd. All involved with the Lakers once knew that this was a special day and that the Lakers were going to get a special player when Byron Scott (the Lakers representative) was caught on TV giving a wink.
The Los Angeles Lakers ended up finishing with the second overall pick, surpassing the Sixers and placing behind the Minnesota Timberwolves, who had the highest odds of getting the top spot. Clarkson said it best in an interview on Access SportsNet when he stated, “This is an exciting time for Laker nation.” Boy, we haven’t heard those words in quite some time.
The Lakers truly have the best pick in this upcoming draft, even better than Minnesota. The 2015 NBA Draft is headlined by Karl Anthony-Towns and Jahlil Okafor, two very skilled big men who are expected to go 1,2 in the draft. Point guards DeAngelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay can also be considered, but Clarkson’s progression should halt the desire for another point guard.
Why do the Lakers have the best pick in the draft? It’s because the Lakers can get a franchise changer in Okafor or Towns, plus not deal with the stress that comes with the number one pick. There is higher pressure on management for the team choosing first as supposed to the team choosing second. On top of that, the team choosing first doesn’t always draft the best player. I’m sure the Portland Trailblazers regret all the time that they chose Greg Oden over Kevin Durant.
The Timberwolves will be pondering for over a month with the question of, “Towns or Okafor?” while the Lakers can just sit back, relax, and just take the other guy. There has been a growing feeling around the league that Towns is the #1 guy, but we won’t know for sure until draft day. The only way the Lakers can mess this pick up, in my opinion, is taking a point guard. Point guards are a dime a dozen in the NBA, headlined by the two in the NBA Finals, Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry. Contrarily, the top centers in the NBA are DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard, Al Hortford… but that’s it. Towns/Okafor could be added to the list of Lakers dominant centers and each have great value at the #2 slot.
For the first time in over two years, the Lakers are heading back in an upward direction. The future of the Lakers post-Bryant finally looks clearer. Although Lakers fans (including myself) may take winning for granted, this was another reminder that winning isn’t so easy and is indeed very, very sweet.