The LA Lakers have the second overall pick in the NBA draft this year and players like D'Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Town, Jahlil Okafor and Emmanuel Mudiay are potential targets and this comes as Marc Gasol, Greg Monroe, Rajon Rondo and LaMarcus Aldridge are free agent options for Kobe Bryant hitting the market this summer.
The Lakers made a jump over the Knicks and the Sixers in the draft lottery, slotting in at second after finishing with the fourth worst record in the league. Early mock drafts have Okafor and Towns as the top two targets in the class of players coming out, but reports heading through June have players like Emmanuel Mudiay and D'Angelo Russell in play for the Lakers. Chad Ford at ESPN.com writes that Mudiay and Okafor are at the top of the Lakers board, while Scott Howard-Cooper at NBA.com reports that team executives see Russell as a legitimate option.
Howard-Cooper spoke with unnamed team executives and one stated that he thinks Russell is good enough to go number one to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The report says that most draft experts predict the Lakers will pick whoever is left between Okafor and Towns after Minnesota selects, but a front office executive added that there is a "there is a logical case to be made" for the Lakers going with Russell at two if he is available. The Lakers have a need at point guard and at center, but even with Jordan Clarkson emerging after a strong rookie season, the team could look at taking Russell.
The Lakers picked Julius Randle last year and he missed nearly all of the season with a foot injury. Big men and foot injuries are always a tough combination and if the Lakers have any concerns about Randle coming back, the pick could be for Towns or Okafor. Okafor came into the year as the presumptive number one pick, but Towns caught up to him in the NCAA tournament and now some see the Kentucky big man as the number one prospect for the Timberwolves to take.
Mudiay is also considered to be a top target for the Lakers and he is set to work out for Los Angeles and the other teams in the top four. According to Adam Zagoria of SNY.TV, Mudiay has scheduled workouts with the Lakers as well as the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, who pick third and fourth in the draft. Mudiay is considered a target for the Knicks, but Justise Winslow and Trey Lyles have also been connected to the team with the number four overall pick.
The Lakers have the chance to get a top prospect and they are also expected to be active in free agency this summer. Some names the team could chase includes Goran Dragic, Marc Gasol, Rajon Rondo, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarre Carroll and Greg Monroe, while Reggie Jackson also could be an option. The team was interested in Rondo and Dragic at the trading deadline and with Dragic likely staying in Miami, Rondo could be a top option at point guard if the team doesn't draft Russell or Mudiay. The team is hoping to make one more run to the playoffs with Kobe Bryant after missing the postseason two years in a row.
