NBA Draft Lottery 2017: Who each team should take with the No. 1 pick
By John Buhler
Los Angeles Lakers (top three protected, Philadelphia 76ers): Lonzo Ball, point guard, UCLA Bruins (15.6 percent)
Tuesday night will go down as one of the most definitive moments in Los Angeles Lakers history. No team in the NBA has more at stake on some random ping-pong balls than the Lakers. While they do have the third-best odds at winning the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery at 15.6 percent, the Lakers will not get to keep their pick if it falls out of the top three.
All the Philadelphia 76ers need is one team to jump the Lakers to get Los Angeles’ 2017 first-round pick. This all stems back to the four-team trade involving Dwight Howard going from the Orlando Magic to the Lakers in summer 2012.
The Lakers may have a 15.6 percent chance to get the No. 1 overall pick, but only have a 46.9 percent chance of keeping their first-round pick. If the Lakers land fourth, fifth, or sixth in the NBA Draft Lottery, that pick becomes the 76ers’ second first-round pick.
We all know that the Lakers are going to take Lonzo Ball out of UCLA at either one, two, or three if he is available. Many feel that Boston will take Markelle Fultz out of Washington at No. 1 with the Brooklyn Nets’ pick. Expect Ball to go to either Los Angeles or Phoenix, whichever team picks first.
Ball on the Lakers would give them potential star power they have been lacking since Kobe Bryant exited his prime in 2012. The idea is that Ball would play the point and the Lakers could kick D’Angelo Russell out to the two. That is a backcourt many would want to watch next season.