Lakers have surprising draft implications to root for in East play-in game

The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business in their play-in game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. As a result, the Lakers will take on the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves host the Oklahoma City Thunder, who beat the New Orleans Pelicans, with the winning team advancing as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. On the other side of the NBA, the Miami Heat host the Chicago Bulls to see who will move on to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in round one.

While Miami and Chicago could not be farther away from the Lake Show in the general outlook of the league, the matchup between these two teams actually has implications for the Lakers. As Jacob Rude of Silver Screen and Roll points out, the Lakers could move down in the 2023 NBA Draft with a Bulls win.

"“Miami came into the play-in with a better record than the Lakers by one game. So long as they make the playoffs, regardless if it’s as the seventh or eighth seed, they will have the 18th pick and the Lakers will have the 17th pick.”"

Why the Lakers will be hurt in the 2023 NBA Draft if the Heat lose:

By losing back-to-back games in the play-in and missing the playoffs, the Heat actually get a crack at the NBA Lottery instead of their draft position solely being dictated by record.

More importantly, the Bulls finished with a worse regular-season record than the Lakers. So even though they will be bounced out of the lottery by making the playoffs, their worse record keeps them in front of LA.

Chicago stays in front of LA, Miami leapfrogs LA and as a result, the purple and gold would go from the 17th pick in the draft to the 18th pick in the draft.

This might not seem like a huge deal but you never know what kind of prospect could be stolen from the Lake Show with the 17th overall pick. After all, the likes of Jrue Holiday, Danny Granger and Shawn Kemp were all taken with the 17th overall pick.