The Los Angeles Lakers made the obvious choice with the second overall pick in the NBA Draft once LSU’s Ben Simmons was off the board. Duke’s Brandon Ingram will now wear the purple and gold next season and potentially give the storied franchise another valuable weapon on both ends of the basketball floor.
As for the Lakers’ next draft pick at 32nd overall, no one knew which draft prospect would ultimately land in Los Angeles. Once the first 31 picks in the draft were made, the Lakers chose to go with Ivica Zubac out of Croatia, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical:
The Lakers will select Ivica Zubac with the 32nd pick, league sources tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 24, 2016
Now that the 2016 NBA Draft is officially in the rearview for the Lakers, the new regime will get to work with the focus being on preparing for NBA free agency. The free agency period gets underway on July 1 with Los Angeles expected to be as active as any team in the league in terms of pursuing the best players available on the open market.
With the team bringing in a couple of talented rookies and armed with over $60 million in cap space, the Lakers could make a sizable leap next season. Although Luke Walton and company will have their work cut out for them, this team appears to be taking steps in the right direction.