Lakers land second overall draft pick; Timberwolves win draft lottery

NBA draft prospects (from left) D'Angelo Russell, Justice Winslow, Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor wait for the start of the draft lottery in New York on Tuesday.

By Eric Pincus

May 19, 2015 5:54 PM PT

The Lakers survived Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery, landing the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.

The Minnesota Timberwolves won the lottery and secured the top pick for the draft, which will be held at the Barclays Center in New York on June 25.

The top prospects in the draft include Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow, Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell and Emanuel Mudiay, who played in China instead of college.

With the fourth-worst record in the league (21-61), the Lakers went into the lottery with an 82.8% chance of staying in the top five.

The Lakers had a 12.6% chance of jumping to second in the lottery.

Had the Lakers dropped to sixth or seventh, they would have sent their first-rounder to the Philadelphia 76ers, completing their trade with the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash.

In what turned out to be one of the worst trades in franchise history, the Lakers sent four draft picks to the Suns in 2012 for Nash, who spent most of his three years with the Lakers on the injured list. Phoenix since traded the Lakers’ selection to Philadelphia in February, in a three-way deal with the Milwaukee Bucks for Brandon Knight.

That obligation will now delay a year -- the Lakers now owe the 76ers their 2016 first-round pick, with top-three protection. The Lakers’ debt to the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard will also convey in 2018 (with top-five protection) instead of 2017.

The Lakers will have three selections in the 2015 NBA draft, including the 27th overall pick (acquired from the Houston Rockets with Jeremy Lin) and their own second-rounder at 34th.

Last year, the Lakers took Kentucky’s Julius Randle with the seventh overall pick. Their choice in 2015 will be the team’s highest selection since they took James Worthy in 1982 with the top overall selection.

After the lottery Kobe Bryant tweeted: “We played like crap all season so it’s only right we get the #2 pick HA #lakerluck #goodday”

Lottery teams draft selection order:

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

2. LAKERS

3. Philadelphia 76ers

4. New York Knicks

5. Orlando Magic

6. Sacramento Kings

7. Denver Nuggets

8. Detroit Pistons

9. Charlotte Hornets

10. Miami Heat