Written by Kyle Boone at CBSSports.com
The Los Angeles Lakers were far and away one of the biggest winners — if not the biggest — of the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday night. With the stakes of potentially losing a lottery pick if it fell outside the top three, lucky charm Magic Johnson watched his team not only keep its precious pick, but also secure the No. 2 overall slot.
It gives the Lakers a chance to draft big talent early in the draft and also allows the team to draft twice in the first round, as they also hold the No. 28 pick.
The big lottery showing also makes for a slightly awkward situation.
It’s no secret the Lakers and UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball have a strong mutual interest. Should the team select Ball at No. 2 in next month’s draft as many believe they will, it might put former No. 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell in a bit of a holding pattern. Both Russell and Ball are ball-dominant point guards and talented distributors, and the odds that both could be on the floor at the same time isn’t great. Neither has much experience playing off the ball. And Russell’s two-season stint could be winding down as the franchise not only shifts leadership but also personnel decisions made from the former regime.
As Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated noted, multiple teams are considering trade packages to put an end to that awkwardness before it ever begins.
Multiple NBA teams are already evaluating trade packages for D’Angelo Russell, according to league sources. https://t.co/yM9KFcfEu2
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) May 17, 2017
Russell was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, so he still has two years left on his rookie deal. That would allow for teams to take a flyer on the former Ohio State guard before committing big money right away on him or even spending big in free agency this offseason.
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