Los Angeles Lakers keep No. 2 pick, are biggest NBA lottery winners
NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Lakers did not get the pick they wanted, but they got the one they needed.
Now, it's on Magic Johnson to deliver.
The 2017 NBA Draft Lottery felt like a throwback to the 1980s. The Boston Celtics won the No. 1 overall pick, and the Philadelphia 76ers took the third pick. But it was the Lakers with the most on the line — they would have lost the pick if not selected in the top three — and they nailed it by landing the No. 2 overall pick for the third consecutive season.
The results now place the Lakers in line to select Lonzo Ball, the UCLA point guard who has said he’d rather be a Laker than the No. 1 overall pick. Given Washington point guard Markelle Fultz’s status as the consensus top pick, Ball likely will be available if Johnson wants him. Kansas swingman Josh Jackson also will be in the mix as a potential defensive ace, as will Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox and Duke forward Jayson Tatum.
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The Lakers are in an intriguing position now that they have saved this pick: They have a bunch of talented young players and no reason not to try as hard as possible next season. Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson are entering their crucial fourth seasons, when it should become clearer where they place in the Lakers’ long-term plans. But the bigger pressure is on D’Angelo Russell, who enters his third season with many still believing he can be a franchise star on the offensive end.
Adding another elite prospect should free Russell up as an on- and off-ball playmaker. It also should help Brandon Ingram, the 19-year-old No. 2 overall pick who was asked to do a bit too much during the second half of the season yet still responded with improved production.
Johnson, the Lakers’ new president of basketball operations, and general manager Rob Pelinka will need to deal with a few mistakes of their predecessors, including the 2012 Steve Nash trade that almost cost them this year’s first-rounder and will cost them next year’s. Oversized contracts for aging veterans Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov last offseason do not fit with the team’s rebuilding plan, and the young core is nearly devoid of defensive-minded players. They did save their 2019 first-rounder in the process of saving this one, but the result is they now owe the Orlando Magic their next two second-round selections.
This is a franchise that had never missed the playoffs for three consecutive years before this current string of four absences in a row. Luke Walton is the Lakers’ fourth head coach of the past five seasons, but he is held in esteem throughout the franchise. Still, he joins Johnson and Pelinka, a longtime player agent, as a relatively inexperienced group at the top of a legendary franchise.
Still, on a night when the spirit of the 1980s returned, Johnson’s charisma can inspire some confidence. He’s still competitive — “I still hate them,” Johnson said after coming in second to the Celtics — and his name still carries weight in NBA circles. And he’s showing patience.
“I don't think we're going to be a major player this year; I’m looking forward to next summer,” Johnson said in what could be interpreted as yet another hint at the team’s not-so-secret dreams of signing Los Angeles natives Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
For now, the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery has given the Lakers a shot at the talent boost they need. Is the return of “Showtime” next?
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Adi Joseph on Twitter @AdiJoseph.
