Lakers Draft 2016: 5 Players Worth Trading No. 2 Pick For

May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; General view during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; General view during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Dec 12, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) reacts after a basket during the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 12, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) reacts after a basket during the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Blake Griffin

The trials of Blake Griffin with the other team in Los Angeles, the Clippers, last season were widely covered and for good reason. Even if the guy is your friend, anytime that you have a professional athlete getting into any kind of physical altercation with a staff member of their team, it’s a bad look. As such, there are those around the NBA that believe that Blake’s days with the Clippers might be numbered.

More from Lake Show Life

Who knows how much truth there is to the notion that Griffin might be traded, but the Lakers would be wise to poke around and find out how serious they are and just how much it would take in addition to the No. 2 pick to pry him away from their in-city rivals.

Obviously Griffin would push Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. out of their current roles with the Lakers, but it would also likely take a player of that ilk to lure Blake away from the Clippers. Moreover, there are many smart people around the Lakers that don’t seem entirely sold on Randle being the guy moving forward with the rest of this young core. That said, Griffin is still one of the most talented players in the league and might just need to get out of his current organization. As he’s still young, the Lakers being the team to make that happen with the No. 2 pick would be an interesting decision.

Next: No. 4 Brook Lopez