NBA Draft: 5 best destinations for Ben Simmons
By John Buhler
2. player. 20. . West. Pacific. Los Angeles Lakers
The 2015-16 Los Angeles Lakers stink, but the future for this young Lakers team is potentially blinding bright. While the Lakers are 14-55 through their first 69 games, in last place in the Western Conference, and have the second worst record in the NBA, they have a fantastic foursome of young players already on their roster in what has been the Year of Kobe.
Not only do the Lakers have D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance, Jr., Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle as their young core, but the Lakers are almost certainly going to wind up with either the No. 1 or the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. They can’t do worse than No. 3, otherwise they lose that pick to the Phoenix Suns as part of the Steve Nash trade from a few seasons ago.
On paper, the Lakers have four of their five future starters in place on Kobe Bryant retires at the end of the year: Russell at point guard, Clarkson at shooting guard, Randle at power forward, and Nance at center. All they are missing is a small forward: enter Simmons with the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Not only will Los Angeles have a new coach and not have the burden of praising Kobe nightly, but they will have one of the most exciting young teams in the league is Simmons were to go to the Lakers. He already looks good in Purple and Gold, so why change that?
While it would be a bit unfair to think Simmons to the Lakers makes Los Angeles a Western Conference Playoff as early as 2017, the future for the Lakers could not be more promising with him joining that great young corps in place in Los Angeles. The Lakers are a very likely destination for Simmons and he would thrive playing with that team and those players for the next decade.
Next: 1. Boston Celtics