NBA Draft 2012: Lakers Must Get Serious About Building Through the Draft

League pundits haven't exactly been burning the midnight oil in their attempts to predict who the Los Angeles Lakers will take with their lone selection in June 28's NBA Draft—mostly because that pick is the 60th overall in said draft.

The last of all the picks.

Originally, the pick belonged to the Chicago Bulls. Los Angeles' own picks have been moved elsewhere, including the 24th-overall pick that now belongs to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It's hard to fault the Lakers for that move, and it's even harder to decide which part of it was better: acquiring Ramon Sessions or magically getting rid of Luke Walton.

Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico reports that the Lakers may be attempting to improve upon that oh-so-late second-round pick:

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Lakers "making real push" to get into 1st round of NBA Draft, says EC exec. Word is they like the Baylor guys: Perry Jones & Quincy Miller.

— Sam Amico (@SamAmicoFSO) June 21, 2012"

Los Angeles should look to get more out of its drafts, both now and in the long-term. 

Granted, the Lakers probably won't wind up with any lottery picks anytime soon. Nor do they have to. They just have to get their hands on some more guys with upside and then actually find some minutes for those guys to play.

That's not easy to do when you're a team that contends year in and year out. The opportunities to rebuild rarely present themselves.

But, the Lakers are running out of options.

Trading Pau Gasol may be a temporary solution, and it could equip Kobe Bryant with the supporting cast he needs to contend for another two or three years. It certainly doesn't hurt that Andrew Bynum is still just 24 years old and coming off the best season of his career.

It's certainly not as if this club is imminently doomed, even if its most dynastic days are a thing of the past for the moment.

What happens next is a different question altogether.

Bryant is 33 years old, and Los Angeles has to at least begin thinking about who inherits his thrown. If the organization can hold on to Bynum, free agents would indeed have a compelling reason to play in L.A.–even beyond the obvious reasons they ordinarily want to do so.

Unfortunately, resting future hopes on the whims of free agents is never an especially safe strategy, and nor is it cost-effective. Why spend maximum dollars on players approaching the back-ends of their prime years when you could have young talent under the control of rookie contracts instead?

It's a lesson that even the New York Yankees have learned, and they don't have to deal with a salary cap.

Los Angeles might not be able land a replacement for Kobe anytime soon, but getting its hands on some draft picks would at least increase the chances.

If any trades go down this summer, it wouldn't be a bad idea to ensure a draft pick or two is part of the discussion. The Houston Rockets—who almost landed Gasol last winter—own the 14th and 16th picks in the draft, and the Lakers could do a lot with one of those.

It's no time to panic, but it is time to begin planning—perhaps even planning to do things a little differently from usual.