LA Sports Hub
Fansided

Los Angeles Lakers: Everything we learned from the 2018 NBA Draft

By Jason Reed

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: Moritz Wagner reacts after being drafted 25th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: Moritz Wagner reacts after being drafted 25th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. Enough of the rebuild, it is time to win now

If anything, the Los Angeles Lakers showing in the 2018 NBA Draft was telling of one, underlying thing: this team wants to win now.

More from LA Sports Hub

Of course, this is obviously the case if the Lakers were, in fact, tailoring their selections to LeBron James. However, even without James, the Lakers are selecting prospects that can help as early as day one. They are no longer selecting younger college prospects that are going to take years to mold.

Both Wagner and Mykhailiuk have college experience and are going to be closer to their respective ceilings than other, lesser experienced, prospects. And while that may mean the ceilings are partially lower, it gives the team a better outlook immediately.

This “win-now” mentality was flirted with all of last season. The front office, without outright saying it, made it pretty apparent by the moves that were made. Los Angeles was trading young talent to free up cap space, a rebuilding team does not do that.

However, there were still concerns that the Lakers were going to wait until the 2019 summer to turn the ship around and build this juggernaut. After all, Paul George and LeBron James could have simply opted back into their contracts.

Next: Lakers: Top 30 Greatest Players of All-Time

That no longer seems to be the case and the Lakers look geared to make the Summer of 2018 as exciting as we all have hoped it would be for the last year.

Home/Los Angeles Lakers