The worst draft decisions made by the Los Angeles Lakers:
The 1995 NBA Draft –
Sure, the Lakers have been amazing when it came to drafting players. Magic, Kobe, A.C. Green, Worthy, etc. However, they have had many misses as well. In the 1995 draft, they traded their 21st pick in the first round to the Phoenix Suns. That player turned out to be Michael Finley.
The 2009 NBA Draft –
The Lakers had the 29th overall pick in the first round. They selected Toney Douglas, who they traded to the New York Knicks. More importantly, in the second round, the Lakers drafted Patrick Beverley, who would go on to be one of the best defensive players in the NBA and now plays for the crosstown rival Clippers. They traded him for a second-round pick in the 2011 draft, who ended up being Ater Majok.
The 2012 NBA Draft –
The Lakers traded their first-round pick which was number 24 earlier in the season to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Along with the pick, they traded Luke Walton and Jason Kapono for Ramon Sessions and Christen Eyenga. Had the Lakers kept that pick, they could have possibly drafted Draymond Green, Jae Crowder, Khris Middleton, Will Barton, Kent Bazemore, or JaMychal Green.
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D’Angelo Russell –
The Lakers had the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. To be fair, Russell appeared to be an extremely talented player coming out of college. However, they could have drafted Devin Booker or Terry Rozier.
Look, most teams would have taken Russell. He wasn’t the player the Lakers thought he would be. He turned out to be a cancer in the locker room, especially the feuding with Nick Young.