On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers scored a major victory on when the ping pong balls rolled out and provided the purple and gold with the no. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery.
Had the Lakers fallen to fourth of fifth in the lottery, LA would have been feeling black and blue because the Philadelphia 76ers would have assumed the Lakers' pick as part of the Steve Nash trade. Instead, LA kept its pick and fell into the enviable position of likely drafting former Duke Blue Devil Brandon Ingram or former LSU Tiger Ben Simmons.
Lookin' good, Mitch. pic.twitter.com/Tbs9OYiMhe — TWC SportsNet (@TWCSportsNet) May 18, 2016
Simmons and Ingram are widely considered far and away the top two prospects available in the 2016 NBA Draft. The Philadelphia 76ers came out winners with the no. 1 pick, so the 76ers will have their pick of the litter. Essentially, the Lakers are expected to choose either Ingram or Simmons based on which one Philadelphia takes with the no. 1 overall pick.
Bottom line, the Lakers rebuild just got accelerated. BIG TIME! — Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) May 18, 2016
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For the Lakers, Tuesday was a great day. LA will get the no. 2 pick in the NBA Draft for the second year in a row and a lottery pick for the third consecutive year. In 2014, LA selected Julius Randle with the no. 7 pick, and D'Angelo Russell came to LA via the no. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
So Lakers can trade their pick pre-draft - up or down - but not out - can trade out after draft is complete (all just FYI) — Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) May 18, 2016
The NBA Draft will be conducted on June 23, 2016 in Brooklyn, New York.
