It’ll be a busy off-season for the Los Angeles Lakers with the franchise determined to get back on track after three straight disappointing seasons. Although it has been a difficult few years in Los Angeles, there is light at the end of the tunnel with some promising young players on the roster.
Rookie Jordan Clarkson burst on the scene for the Lakers this season and provided hope for the future. Julius Randle is also a player that may be a star in the making and both of these players will be on display in the upcoming NBA Summer League.
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Head coach Byron Scott will be the team’s representative at the NBA Draft lottery next Tuesday, but he won’t be coaching the Lakers Summer League team in July. That job of coaching the team’s young prospects will go to Mark Madsen as Scott stated on TWCSportsNet:
BREAKING: Byron Scott tells @JamesWorthy42 on 'Access SportsNet' that Mark Madsen will coach Lakers at Summer League. pic.twitter.com/OiEhUrqNNx
— TWC SportsNet (@TWCSportsNet) May 14, 2015
Madsen could easily have one of the talented young teams in Las Vegas in July. The Lakers will have Randle, Clarkson, and a top-five draft pick leading the way. Los Angeles will also have two other rookies on the roster from their 27th and 34th picks overall.
The team’s fate will be determined on May 19 with the team finding out if they’ll keep their lottery pick and if they do where they’ll be drafting on June 25. There’s an 82.8 percent chance of the Lakers retaining the pick and a 35.1 percent chance they’ll have the fifth pick in the draft.
One of these notable draft prospects could be wearing purple and gold during the Summer League with Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky), Emmanuel Mudiay (China), D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State), and Justise Winslow (Duke) expected to be selected in the top five.
[divide]Lakers Nation’s 2015 NBA Draft Podcast