On May 19, the 2015 NBA draft lottery will get underway with the fate of the Los Angeles Lakers set to be determined. In all likelihood, the storied franchise will hold onto their lottery pick and will be in the fourth or fifth position.
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During a press conference for the University of Kentucky on Thursday, seven players on the incredibly talented squad coached by John Calipari decided to make the jump to the NBA, according to HoopsRumors.com:
Forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns and six other Kentucky underclassmen are entering this year’s draft, as they formally announced today in a joint press conference. Towns, whom both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress project as the No. 1 pick, joins center Willie Cauley-Stein, power forward Trey Lyles, shooting guard Devin Booker, center Dakari Johnson, combo guard Andrew Harrison and shooting guard Aaron Harrison in declaring for the draft.
With the Lakers likely sporting a high lottery pick, there’s a good chance one of these seven players ends up wearing purple and gold next season. Karl-Anthony Towns is the top prospect among the seven players that decided declare for the upcoming draft, but unless Los Angeles gets pick in the top two or three, it’s hard to imagine him falling to four or five.
Willie Cauley-Stein, former Kentucky teammate of Lakers forward Julius Randle, might become an intriguing option for Los Angeles if the team ends up drafting with the fourth or fifth pick. Also, the Lakers own the Houston Rockets’ first-round pick as a result of the Jeremy Lin trade last summer. That being said, Los Angeles could bring in one or more of these prospects with Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, Dakari Johnson, Aaron or Andrew Harrison there for the taking.
Along with all seven players from Kentucky heading into the draft, there will be a few other talented players like that will get a lot of buzz from now until draft day on June 25. D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State), Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Emmanuel Mudiay (China), Stanley Johnson (Arizona) and Justise Winslow (Duke) are a few notable names that will likely get consideration as lottery picks as well as the majority of the Wildcats that decided to declare for the draft on Thursday.
[divide]Byron Scott On Jeremy Lin, Ed Davis, Jordan Clarkson