There have been rumors swirling that if the Los Angeles Lakers have their first-round draft pick(if it falls out of the top three it belongs to Philadelphia) they will trade it. Especially if it’s the first overall pick. The logic behind this was that the Lakers are a big franchise, in an exciting city, where bored fans have other things to do than stay loyal to a losing team. Basically, the Lakers can’t afford to tank. General Manager Mitch Kupchak, while on the ESPNLA 710 show, said that these rumors are laughable:
Kupchak (on ESPN710) said he got “a chuckle” when he read rumors that Lakers plan to trade draft pick: "I have no idea where that came from"
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) May 6, 2016
After all, the Lakers don’t even know if they’ll be lucky enough to have that draft pick:
Kupchak: “I'm superstitious enough that I’m not going to look to do something or take something for granted before we have it.” (on ESPN710)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) May 6, 2016
The Lakers were a train wreck this year, finishing their season with an abysmal 17-65 record, good for dead last in the Western conference. It would be a massive loss for this team if their pick in the draft were to fall out of the top-3; they could be looking at a Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram if they can keep their pick.
