In one week, the Los Angeles Lakers will finally find out whether or not they keep their top-three protected draft pick at the NBA Draft Lottery. The franchise and its fans will be anxiously awaiting that day as the Lakers have a 46.9 percent chance of keeping the pick.
If they do keep the pick, they will have a big decision to make as whoever they select will then become another key component to the rebuilding of the franchise and it looks like they have the potential players in mind.
According to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, the Lakers have four players in consideration for their potential top-three pick:
Either the Lakers will start locking in on UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball, Washington point guard Markelle Fultz, Kansas forward Josh Jackson and under-the-radar Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox—the four players they are most considering in the top three, according to league sources…or they won’t.
Ball and Fultz are the consensus top two prospects on most draft boards while most also have Jackson slotted at No. 3, though there is some distance separating them. Fox is an interesting choice, but Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka were in the building for his outstanding Sweet 16 performance against Ball and UCLA.
According to Ding, the Lakers are open to the possibility of Jackson or Fox being a better fit than the top two prospects:
The Lakers are believed to be open-minded to the possibility that Jackson or Fox—potentially with greater upside thanks to a combination elite athleticism and ferocious competitiveness—could be an even better choice than one of the current consensus top two: Ball or Fultz.
Of course, the most important thing is simply that the Lakers keep the draft pick. As long as that happens, the franchise will be ecstatic regardless of who they wind up with.
Whether it is Fultz, Ball, Jackson, or Fox, the Lakers would be adding another potential cornerstone to the franchise and hopefully move that much closer to returning the team to glory.