Lakers Trade Rumors: Rounding Up Top Buzz Entering 2018 NBA Draft Lottery
The 2018 NBA draft lottery takes place Tuesday night, and for the first time since 2013, the Los Angeles Lakers won't be involved.
The Lakers finished with the 10th-worst record in the NBA this past season, but due to a series of trades, the team will not own their 2018 first-round draft pick. Depending on where it lands in the lottery, the selection will belong to either the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers.
ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg broke down the probabilities of each team landing the Lakers' selection:
Without having to worry about the lottery, it's been a quiet offseason for the Lakers so far, but here's a quick roundup of some of the buzz surrounding the team in recent days.
USC's Chimezie Metu works out for Lakers
Since the Lakers don't own a top pick in this year's draft, they're turning their attention to the next tier of prospects, including Los Angeles native Chimezie Metu.
ESPN.com's Jonathan Givony recently ranked Metu No. 36 on his big board. The Lakers own the 25th and 47th selections in the June 21 draft, which potentially puts them in a range where Metu could be an option with either selection.
The 6'10" Metu spent the past three years playing for head coach Andy Enfield at USC and led the Trojans with 15.7 points per game last season.
Brook Lopez and Channing Frye are both set to become unrestricted free agents, and Julius Randle will be a restricted free agent this summer. It's unlikely that all three players return, potentially putting the Lakers in the market for a big man in the draft.
Metu likely wouldn't steal minutes from any current rotation players, but the Lakers could potentially draft him and develop him for the future.
Lakers showing interest in big men
As a Los Angeles native, Metu is arguably the most interesting name on the Lakers' list of pre-draft workouts, but they've shown an interest in other big men also.
The team recently released a list of other workouts, which included Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop, Kansas center Udoka Azubuike and Baylor center Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.
Among that group, the highest-ranked player on Givony's list is Bates-Diop, who checked in at No. 18 overall.
Bates-Diop averaged 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds for the Buckeyes last season and could potentially fill Randle's role in the Lakers lineup if they let him walk this offseason.
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard Rumors
Since the Lakers don't own an early pick in this year's draft, many fans are already focused on free agency—especially on Southern California native Paul George.
Unfortunately for them, there haven't been any serious rumors connecting George to the Lakers this offseason. However, according to OddsShark, the Lakers are the favorite to land him in free agency.
Another big name potentially on the market this offseason is Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who, according to The Ringer, was recently spotted at a Los Angeles Dodgers game.
Obviously this led to rampant speculation among fans that the L.A. native was interested in joining the Purple and Gold this offseason. However, Leonard may have simply been back to visit friends and family.
Leonard is under contract through next season and has a player option for the 2019-20 season. So it would require a trade for the Lakers to acquire him.
However, Leonard's extended absence from the Spurs this season led to speculation that he might be available this offseason. According to Bleacher Report's Ken Berger, as of right now the Spurs aren't listening to offers, and teams trying to inquire about Leonard have "gotten the brush-off."
Based on this information, the Lakers acquiring Leonard appears to be an unlikely outcome this summer, and their pursuit of George is more likely to come to fruition.
