The Los Angeles Lakers finally received some good news on Tuesday with the team being awarded the second overall pick in the upcoming 2015 NBA Draft. After the news broke of the Lakers set to draft in the second position on June 25, Kobe Bryant took to Twitter to comically express his feelings about the team getting lucky in the draft lottery.
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On Wednesday, Rebecca Feferman of SXSW.com asked Kobe about the team having the second overall pick and the superstar had a classic response:
.@kobebryant, on @Lakers 2nd Draft pick: "Don't mess it up." Criteria for success? "Don't pick a player that sucks." pic.twitter.com/BjvsiHWhJp
— Rebecca Feferman (@RebFef) May 20, 2015
With so much going wrong in Los Angeles over the last three years, no one can blame Kobe for telling the Lakers brass not to mess it up. Bryant is heading into his 20th and potentially last season in the NBA. There’s no doubt he wants to go out on top, but realistically may simply want to compete with a young team filled with promising talent.
Along with potentially drafting Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor, the Lakers will have Julius Randle back healthy and Jordan Clarkson coming off an impressive rookie season. The team is also expected to bring back Tarik Black and possibly keep Jabari Brown moving forward.
Although the Lakers are still far from title contention, the team can improve drastically with the right moves made in the draft and bringing in a big-name player or two in NBA free agency in July.
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