What Position Should Los Angeles Lakers Target in 2015 NBA Draft?
The Los Angeles Lakers have traditionally built championship teams around two or three significantly superior athletes, filling in with strong role players and a solid bench.
And while the franchise still views itself as an ideal landing spot for top free agents, the Lakers have come around to understanding that in order to build the next generation of contenders, it must look to the June 25 NBA draft as well.
As it plays out the string of what may be its worst season ever, the 13-41 Lakers are counting on a solid draft to help jump-start the long road back to respectability. Much of where they draft and who they select will depend on their final record and how the ping-pong balls bounce at the May 19 draft lottery.
As much as L.A. may have wanted to acquire point guard Goran Dragic (per ESPN's Marc Stein) from the Phoenix Suns, they didn’t feel it was worth giving up a potential top lottery pick for a player who will be a free agent this summer and could still end up signing with the team in the offseason.
And so this upcoming draft, thought to be exceptionally strong, shapes up as one of the most important and intriguing in recent memory for L.A. Regardless of how fans feel about the eventual return of Kobe Bryant and the potential of Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson, these Lakers are virtually starting from scratch.
As head coach Byron Scott told ESPNLA.com’s Baxter Holmes:
"We need pieces at every position to get to where we want to get to. Obviously, we’re not going to be able to solve that problem in one year or one summer. It’s going to take us a little time.
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Time is something the 36-year-old Bryant does not have. He is clearly not the future of the Lakers, though he could end up playing another two or three years at a high level if he stays away from further injury.
The team’s future rests with its ability to choose well in the draft and sign two to three big free agents over the next couple of seasons. As to what position on which the team should focus when making its selections, that is the million-dollar question, with a number of variables thrown in for good measure.
As Scott pointed out, this team needs help at every position. The Lakers should look to draft the best possible athlete, regardless of where he lines up on the court.
Draft position obviously plays a key role in determining who that player is. If the draft were held today and the lottery held to form, the Lakers would pick No. 4. One player most likely to be long gone by then is super freshman center Jahlil Okafor from Duke.
If L.A. somehow gets lucky and grabs that No. 1 position, there’s no question who it should and would take. Okafor, at 19, has perfected moves that NBA veterans in their mid-20s are still working on.
At 6’11”, 270 pounds, Okafor would make Jordan Hill expendable or, at the very least, a front-line role player. With a team option on Hill's $9 million contract for next season, the Lakers could look to trade the big man should they have the good fortune to draft Okafor.
Assuming L.A. does not end up in that sweet spot but moves up to second or third, their decision probably changes. Needing to bolster the guard position, the Lakers would be hard-pressed to pass on either D'Angelo Russell from Ohio State or Emmanuel Mudiay, who bypassed college to play in China. Both are extremely athletic, 6’5” guards with exceptional skill sets for freshman-aged players.
Russell could easily play the point or slide over to the 2, while Mudiay is a true PG who could transform a franchise over the next decade. Both are that good.
And while Jordan Clarkson continues to play well for the Lakers and has a bright future in the league, having a teammate in the back court with the potential of these two could prove too attractive for L.A. to pass up.
The 18-year-old Mudiay went to China to play for the Guangdong Southern Tigers on a $1.2 million contract after failing to clear academic standards at Southern Methodist University. He played 10 games before being sidelined with an ankle injury, but that has not tarnished his resume as he prepares to be drafted in June.
Per Yahoo! Sports and Adrian Wojnarowski:
"Mudiay, 18, has played 10 games in China, averaging 17.7 points, six rebounds and six assists. NBA executives who've watched him told Yahoo Sports he's only enhanced his draft value with his performances in China so far.
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DraftExpress.com has Mudiay ranked No. 2 in the draft, right behind Okafor. And ESPN Insider Chad Ford, in his most recent mock draft, has the Lakers taking Mudiay from the fourth spot:
"Landing Mudiay would be an especially strong get for the Lakers, who have a major need at point guard. While Mudiay's season in China was cut short by an ankle injury, his combination of size, elite athleticism and raw power is reminiscent of a young Derrick Rose. He may take a little longer to adjust to the NBA after nearly a yearlong hiatus, but the combo of Mudiay and Julius Randle at least would give the Lakers a strong foundation to start to build around in the post-Kobe era.
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Right up there with Okafor and Mudiay is Russell, the Ohio State freshman combo guard who many feel is the best at his position in college hoops. His stock continues to rise and Ford of ESPN sees him "as a dominant backcourt scorer in the mold of James Harden..."
Russell can play both point guard and shooting guard, which would be huge for the Lakers, considering they really only have Clarkson and possibly Bryant to rely on next season. Veteran Jeremy Lin has been in a fog for much of the year and seems certain to leave the team when his big contract expires at the end of the year.
If the Lakers end up drafting fourth, their options change once again. In that scenario, several outlets, including Bleacher Report’s NBA Lead Writer Jonathan Wasserman, predict L.A. would take Karl-Anthony Towns, the 7’0” PF/C freshman from Kentucky.
"The Lakers have nobody to lean on up front, and while Arizona's Stanley Johnson could be enticing, I'd imagine they'll go big before adding a wing.
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Towns is not Okafor, but he has the tools to be a dominant big man in the NBA. At 6'11", 250 pounds, Towns is an imposing center who blocks shots, rebounds and can stretch the floor when he's given the minutes in coach John Calipari's rotating offense.
During a recent four-game stretch, Towns averaged 14.5 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes. He blocked seven shots in 18 minutes against Vanderbilt.
On a team where no one player averages more than 26 minutes per game, Towns is averaging 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in just 20 minutes per night. It is conceivable Towns could be gone before the Lakers' number is called.
If the Lakers were to finish the season outside the bottom five, they would lose that top draft pick, which is protected and now owned by the Philadelphia 76ers.
In that scenario, the Lakers' other first-round selection comes later, since it was the Houston Rockets pick which was traded to them along with Jeremy Lin last summer. That pick should come somewhere around 26 or 27.
With that pick and possibly two more in the second round, the Lakers should focus on drafting for need. Every team could use good long-distance shooters, especially L.A., which converts on just under 35 percent of shots from three-point range.
Sam Dekker of Wisconsin is often mentioned as a possible pickup for the Lakers who would add depth from the wing and is a reliable scorer. The 6'9" Dekker rarely makes mistakes and has improved all facets of his game over the past three seasons.
He averages 13.4 points in 29 minutes, converting 64 percent of his shots from mid-range and 34 percent from beyond the arc.
The draft comes a week before free agency, so the Lakers will need to address their position priorities first from the college ranks. Undoubtedly, they will look to sign a free agent or two come July. And that may also factor into whom they place on their draft wish list.
But Los Angeles cannot count on any of the free agents yet, while the draft offers them the opportunity to secure strong position players.
The Lakers would love to grab former UCLA standout Kevin Love this summer. But he has publicly dismissed (via Cleveland.com) coming to Los Angeles. That could change if the Cavs disappoint in the playoffs and Love underperforms, but nothing in free agency is a sure thing.
So, as their rebuilding continues this summer, the Lakers have a golden opportunity to draft three or four players who could factor into their long-range plans.
L.A. could easily lose two-thirds of its current roster to free agency, trades or the scrap heap. Randle, Clarkson and Bryant most certainly will return, but big question marks loom for the likes of Ryan Kelly, Jordan Hill, Ed Davis, Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Lin, Robert Sacre, Wayne Ellington and even Nick Young.
By allowing his young players to gain more experience over the last third of the season, Byron Scott is essentially throwing in the towel on a horrible year. He sat Boozer Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets (another Lakers loss), opting to give Kelly more playing time.
Magic Johnson, often critical of Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss, has suggested on a number of occasions that losing beats winning if the team is to retain that all-important draft pick in June. He reiterated his feelings that the team needs to hit a home run in both the draft and free agency or else hold Buss accountable.
Via ESPN's First Take, Johnson said:
"If he (Jim Buss) doesn't have a big summer with a free agent, it looks like they'll have a good draft pick. Put that together with a good free agent, you can be right back into the mix. If this summer, that doesn't happen where they can sign a great player, it's over for us.
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With at least 3-5 potential franchise players coming out for the draft, the Lakers are in position to redirect their future. By not making any moves at this month's trade deadline, the team wisely chose to stand pat and absorb another two months of mediocrity in exchange for a better tomorrow.
As noted by Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Pincus:
"Losing out on the pick this summer would be devastating to the franchise.
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The well-known phrase, "you can't win for losing," mostly applies in life. But not in this instance.
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