With the Los Angeles Lakers finishing the 2014-15 NBA season with the fourth-worst record in the league, the team has a good chance of retaining their lottery pick. Although the team finished with a record of 21-61, it’s not guaranteed they’ll hold onto the pick with a 17.2 percent of losing the pick during the NBA draft lottery on May 19 to the Philadephia 76ers.
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Fortunately, even if the Lakers lose their lottery pick, Los Angeles will still have a pick in the first round and an early pick in the second round. According to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, the storied franchise will have the 27th overall pick in the draft as a result of the Jeremy Lin trade last summer:
By Houston winning the tiebreaker over the Clippers, the Lakers get the 27th overall pick — also have 34th
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) April 17, 2015
These three picks could potentially be a huge step forward for the Lakers in terms of ramping up the rebuilding process. Los Angeles already has a pair of talented young players in Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson. The addition of three more promising prospects is without a doubt a step in the right direction.
Once the 2015 NBA draft is officially in the books, the Lakers will have a much clearer picture of what to do in free agency come July 1. This will help determine the fate of some of the team’s notable free agents like Ed Davis, Jeremy Lin, Wayne Ellington and Ronnie Price.
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