Season over but position of Lakers’ picks still up in the air
Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, left, and Willie Cauley-Stein look on during an NCAA Final Four practice session at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on April 3.
The Lakers finished the 2014-15 season on Wednesday with a 21-61 record.
With the fourth-worst record in the league, the Lakers won’t know their pick position until the May 19 NBA draft lottery.
The Lakers have 11.9% odds of winning the top-overall pick, 12.6% for second, 13.3% for third, 9.9% for fourth and 35.1% for fifth.
Should they drop to sixth (16.0% chance) or seventh (1.2%), their 2015 draft pick will go to the Philadelphia 76ers, as part of the Steve Nash trade with the Phoenix Suns.
The Lakers will also get the Houston Rockets’ pick, acquired with Jeremy Lin in trade over the summer. At 56-26, the Rockets finished the season tied with the Clippers.
The league will break the tie, giving the Lakers either the 27th or 28th overall pick.
The franchise also has its own second-rounder (34th).
The top prospects in the 2015 draft pool likely include Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow, and Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell.
Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who played overseas in China instead of collegiately, is also expected to go high in the draft.
Should the Lakers stay in the top five, they’ll owe their 2016 first-rounder to Philadelphia, with top-three protection.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
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