2 players from National Championship that the Lakers could draft
By Jason Reed
Los Angeles sports fans were likely watching the UCLA-Gonzaga Final Four game on Saturday with something at stake. If you are a Bruins fan then you were watching with sweaty palms as UCLA almost moved on to the National Championship in what would have been one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
If you are not a UCLA fan then you are probably a USC fan, and if that is the case, your palms were sweaty as you thought about UCLA fans smack-talking USC fans. If you are not a big fan of either school, such as myself, you were likely rooting for the underdog story.
UCLA did not move on but LA sports fans still have something to watch for in the National Championship. Los Angeles Lakers fans could be watching future Lakers in action.
There are two prospects, one from Gonzaga and one from Baylor, that the Los Angeles Lakers could draft.
The Los Angeles Lakers are most likely going to have their first-round pick in 2021. The New Orleans Pelicans have the right to the pick from the Anthony Davis trade but the Lakers put a reverse protection of sorts on the pick.
The pick is protected from eight to 30, meaning that as long as the Lakers don’t pick in the top seven they will have their pick in 2021. Spoiler alert: the Lakers are not going to pick in the top seven.
As it currently stands, the Lakers would have the 23rd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis missing time, it can realistically climb as high as 21 and will likely be in the 21-25 range.
Here are the two prospects from the National Championship Game that the Los Angeles Lakers could draft in that range, complete with their big board ranking on both Tankathon and ESPN.