Getty LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers bench react after a play by Lance Stephenson.
After a thrilling draft lottery that saw the Los Angeles Lakers wind up with the fourth pick despite having the 11th best odds, Laker fans took to Twitter in a collective state of cautious optimism. With an exciting young core, a top-four pick, and LeBron James heading into next season – things finally seem to be trending in the right direction for the purple and gold.
Check out some of the best Twitter reactions to the Lakers’ wild NBA Draft Lottery night:
Best Twitter Reactions from Lakers NBA Draft Lottery Climb
This man @kylekuzma.
Clutch on the court. Clutch at the Lottery.
Crazy part of the NBA lottery. LeBron James leaves Cleveland for the Lakers…and one year later, the Lakers get a higher pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Lakers fans missing out on Zion but realizing they still jumped 7 spots 🤷♂️
The Lakers didn’t tank right, messed up their chemistry, couldn’t hire a coach properly and still got a top 5 pick 😂😂😂 t.co/NiXSHjRXsU
Likely Outcomes for Lakers With the 4th Overall Pick
Most likely, the Lakers will try to be aggressive in the pursuit of Anthony Davis and dangle the fourth pick over the New Orleans Pelicans. While the Pelicans currently hold the keys to the first overall pick, Anthony Davis almost certainly still wants out and the Pelicans need to find him a home before he leaves for nothing in free agency. Expect the Lakers to package the fourth overall pick with some of their younger assets as they try and outbid the Celtics and potentially Knicks.
There also is a chance the Lakers lose out on the Anthony Davis sweepstakes and wind up sitting on the fourth overall pick. Things could certainly be worse. The Lakers have the opportunity to pick from a number of talented shooters that are available at the top end of the draft. With scorers like Cam Reddish, Jarrett Culver, Darius Garland and many more talented players likely to be on the board at four, the Lakers should be able to help fill one of their biggest glaring needs.
If the Lakers aren’t happy with their options on the board at four, they could also trade down and move into a spot where they could pick up one of the extremely athletic big men that the draft class is loaded with. While the free agent market is stacked with big men as well, they could pair a draft pick with an established veteran to both win now and build for the future.