Getty The Lakers bench reacts to a Lance Stephenson play, they would win and decrease their lottery chances.
On a night that saw Lance Stephenson and the Los Angeles Lakers bench set the twitter world on fire, they rode the momentum of the play to a resounding win over the Washington Wizards. With the win, the already eliminated Lakers didn’t do their NBA Draft Lottery chances any favors heading into the final games of the disastrous 2018-2019 season.
Here’s Lance Stephenson giving Jeff Green a dance lesson: t.co/1ehcvhLuzv
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Updated Lakers NBA Draft Lottery Chances
Heading into the night (per Tankathon) the Lakers had a 1.2% chance to land the 12th pick, 19% chance to land the 11th pick, and an overwhelming 65% chance to land the 10th pick. The Lakers also possessed a 3% chance to jump into the top of the lottery and land the top pick while they had a 3.3% chance to land the second, 3.6% chance to snag the third pick, and 4% chance to move up to the fourth pick.
Now tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers would drastically decrease their NBA Draft Lottery chances by moving up ahead of the Timberwolves and almost certainly cement themselves with a pick outside of the top 10. If the Lakers can hold their current positioning, they will likely find themselves with the 10th overall pick and an outside shot of landing something in the top four thanks to the NBA Draft Lottery.
With the win, the Tankathon model projected the Lakers to leapfrog the Timberwolves and finish the year with a .4% chance to land the 13th pick, 12.4% chance to land the 12th pick, and a whopping 75.6% chance to land the 11th pick. Furthermore, their odds at leaping up into the top of the lottery dropped considerably with the Lakers only now having a 2.5% chance to land the top pick, a 2.7% chance to land the second, 3% to jump into the third spot, and 3.4% chance to leapfrog into the fourth pick.
Los Angeles Lakers NBA Draft Targets
While there remains a realistic chance the Lakers end up packaging their lottery pick in a package for a second superstar, should they decide to hold onto it and draft a player, there is some intriguing young talent that should still be on the board at the 10th spot (where they will likely land).
KZ Okpala, Stanford
Should the Lakers decide to hang onto their first round pick, KZ Okpala out of Stanford seems like an obvious fit who should still be available at the 10th spot. A large shooting guard and wing, Okpala would fit in nicely with the Lakers as he projects to be a very solid three and d player at the NBA level. Adept at knocking down contested deep balls and showing great hustle and intangibles on the defensive end, Okpala fills two of the Lakers biggest needs at their weakest rotational spot.
Romeo Langford, Indiana
Another shooting guard, Langford possesses a ton of talent and upside but is a questionable fit in the Lakers offense. Considering the Lakers already have two playmakers in LeBron James and Lonzo Ball, adding a third ball-dominant player to the mix could make things a bit messy on the offensive end. That said, Langford’s talent is undeniable and should he be able to accept a complementary role alongside LeBron, could contribute useful minutes right away.