NBA Draft 2018: Lakers take Mo Wagner at No. 25
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t own their first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, but used a pick acquired from the Cavaliers to select Mo Wagner at No. 25.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been in the cellar of the Western Conference for quite some time now, having not made the NBA Playoffs since the 2012-13 season. What’s more they had not won more than 27 games since that season until this year. But with the addition of Lonzo Ball in the NBA Draft a year ago, they improved to 35-47. However, they still missed out on the postseason, but without the benefits.
Though the Lakers were a lottery team in terms of record, they did not own their first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, which fell at 10th overall. That pick was dealt to the Phoenix Suns many years ago for Steve Nash, but was then traded later to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers weren’t about to sit out a first round in their current state though.
In February of this season, they helped to make waves around the league as they traded Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and Cleveland’s 2018 first-round pick. That selection ultimately fell at No. 25 overall, where the Lakers chose to select Mo Wagner out of Michigan.
A 7-footer, Wagner is a truly versatile energy guy as he enters the NBA. He can stretch the floor with great shooting, but also has the ability to score inside with his size and savvy. Limited athleticism is one of the reasons he lasted until the end of the first round — and many projected him falling further — but there’s no questioning his skill and, perhaps most importantly, his heart.
Despite what Wagner offers to the Lakers now and in the future, it remains to be seen what this team will look like come tip-off for the 2018-19 season. Los Angeles is considered a team to watch as a major player in free agency and on the trade market this offseason, most notably being connected to the likes of LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
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Thus, we won’t know for a bit how things will look for the purple and gold right now. The aforementioned Ball could be gone, and so too could someone like Brandon Ingram for the right price. But in regards to the 2018 NBA Draft, they now have another asset in Wagner.