Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers are anxiously awaiting next week’s NBA Draft Lottery when they will find out if the team keeps its top-five protected draft pick. Even without knowing where the Lakers will stand come draft night, there continues to be speculation over who the team would take.
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In his latest mock draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN pegged point guard Emmanuel Mudiay to the Lakers with the fourth overall pick:
Mudiay has been a popular name in terms of potential Lakers draft picks. Some believe that the Lakers prefer Mudiay over Duke center Jahlil Okafor. Though in Chad Ford’s ‘Grade A’ Mock Draft, he had Okafor dropping to fourth behind both Mudiay and D’Angelo Russell.
If the Lakers are fortunate enough to keep their selection, they will have a number of choices at their disposal. Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns would be a major upgrade up front, while Mudiay and Russell both have star potential in the backcourt.
Mudiay is more of an athletic point guard in the John Wall mold. He is strong, athletic, and fast. At 6’5 and 200 pounds, he has the size to match-up with today’s era of point guards and has a great all-around game, averaging 18 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in China this year.
The Lakers will go into the draft lottery with an 82.8 percent chance of keeping the pick. They also have a 37.8 percent chance of moving into the top-three and an 11.9 percent chance of the first overall selection. There is a 17.2 percent chance that the Lakers fall out of the top-5 and lose their pick.
[divide]Lakers Nation 2015 NBA Draft Podcast