The Los Angeles Lakers were in the midst of their best season in a decade when the entire NBA, and most of the world for that matter, were shut down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
There currently is no plan set in stone for when basketball will return, if at all, as the country continues to see coronavirus cases increase.
The league has been discussing a number of plans for when it is safe to resume playing though, with the most recent including all teams finishing the season at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
In the meantime, a lot of uncertainty surrounds a number of events leading up to the NBA Draft, which is currently scheduled for June. Some of that was cleared up on Friday as Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the NBA Draft Lottery and Combine that were supposed to take place in Chicago in May have been postponed indefinitely:
The NBA has indefinitely postponed its NBA Draft Lottery and Draft Combine in May in Chicago due to coronavirus pandemic, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 1, 2020
There’s no word on if the draft itself will be postponed, although that will likely be the case as well in the coming weeks as it does not make sense to hold a draft until the 2019-20 season is complete.
The Draft Lottery being pushed back doesn’t affect the Lakers as much as other teams considering they are headed to the postseason for the first time since 2012. They have had great luck in the lottery in past years though, helping them land players like Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and the No. 4 pick in 2019, which was used to help acquire Anthony Davis.
L.A. has also had success drafting late in the first round and the second round as well though, and that is thanks in part to the work they have done at the Draft Combine. They will have a late first-round pick this year, so hopefully their scouts will be able to evaluate players in some way leading up to the draft.
Regardless though, finishing the 2019-20 season should be the league’s biggest priority right now, and then they can worry about draft stuff after that with the start of the 2020-21 season likely being pushed back anyway.
