Recent Lakers rumors have been about their interest in point guard Markelle Fultz. Did they have a chance to pull off a trade with the Celtics?
With the NBA Draft a few days away, there have been a ton of Lakers rumors to try and digest over the past few days.
Recently, all of the speculation has been about the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Boston Celtics will be sending the pick to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Sixers needed Fultz workout/meeting to complete deal w/ Celtics and, as expected, sides have deal for No. 1 pick. Trade call planned Monday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2017
As expected, the pick is going to be used on Markelle Fultz. The 76ers have been trusting the process for many years now, and it looks like it is going to be paying off in a big way. The 76ers will now have a core of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Fultz for many years to come. While the 76ers were able to get the deal, they weren’t the only team that was trying to get Fultz.
Wojnarowski also mentioned that the Lakers were trying to acquire the first overall pick. However, they couldn’t get an offer to compete with that of the 76ers.
Lakers had interest in pursuing a deal for No. 1 pick/Fultz, but Sixers ability to potentially deliver 3 FRP's in deal too much to overcome. https://t.co/9aBUwqVMiq
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2017
It became clear in recent days that the Lakers really liked Fultz as a prospect, but they knew he likely wouldn’t fall into their laps at two. Fultz’s workout with Los Angeles must have been very impressive for them to consider moving up one spot to take him.
Now, the Lakers will know that he 100 percent won’t be available for them on June 22nd. However, there are some other very talented prospects for them to take. All eyes will likely turn back to Lonzo Ball. For months we have heard Ball linked to the Lakers, and he has met with the team twice now.
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Ball is the consensus second-best prospect in the draft, and the Lakers could certainly use him as a potential franchise player. With the draft on June 22nd, we will have to wait and see what the Lakers plan is with the second overall pick.