Fansided

NBA Draft 2016: Grades for every team

By Cody Williams

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a video board displaying all thirty draft picks in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a video board displaying all thirty draft picks in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 23: Brandon Ingram walks off stage after being drafted second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 23: Brandon Ingram walks off stage after being drafted second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Los Angeles Lakers

Picks: No. 2 Brandon Ingram, No. 32 Ivica Zubac

When you consider where the Los Angeles Lakers are as a franchise right now, they’re a team that has a lot of promise for the future. But the Lakers are also a team that is in desperate need of making the correct decisions moving forward if they want to continue towards a successful rebuilding process as they head into the post-Kobe Bryant era. Subsequently, this draft was going to be huge for them.

Admittedly, it wasn’t a brain-busting decision for the Lakers to take Brandon Ingram with the No. 2 overall pick. By some scouts’ estimations, Ingram is the best player in this draft and has the most upside of any prospect that was selected on Thursday night. Moreover, he’s a natural fit into the young core that the Lakers already have on the roster as there’s a big hole at small forward. What you really have to love about the Lakers draft, though, is what they did at the start of the second round at No. 32.

The Lakers did a fantastic job of identifying value and seeing the value of a player like Ivica Zubac from Mega Leks and seeing that the young center could be a highly valuable asset. He slipped past where he was supposed to in the draft because he wants to come over now and the Lakers are a team that can easily acquiesce his request. It was a big night for LA and the Lakers made a great move twice in one evening at Barclays Center.

Final Grade: A

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