The 2018 NBA Draft has come and gone and the Los Angeles Lakers selected three players: Mortitz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. It was an eventful night filled with trades and plenty of rumors, so on this episode of the Lakers Nation Podcast Trevor Lane and Hannah Kulik break down all of the action.
The Lakers had the 25th, 39th and 47th picks heading into draft night. And while there was some speculation that they would try to package those picks to move up, or trade for Kawhi Leonard, neither happened.
The selections they did make, like most of their picks late in the first round or in the second over recent years, were controversial. In Wagner, the Lakers got a versatile big man who can spread the floor and plays with passion, though his defense is something of a concern.
There are legitimate questions about whether they could have snagged him in the second round, but then again the same concerns were raised with Larry Nance Jr. and Kyle Kuzma. Those picks certainly worked out in the Lakers’ favor.