Lakers: What would they look like if they drafted perfectly during rebuild?

2016 Draft

The Lakers had the 2nd and 32nd overall picks in the 2016 NBA draft. Each pick will be dissected and explained why the player chosen should have been the move instead of who the Lakers actually selected. In this draft they selected Brandon Ingram second overall and Ivica Zubac 32nd overall.

Overall, this was a good draft for the Lakers and in this current season, Ingram made his first All-Star game this season, while Zubac has started in all but two of the games that he has participated in on a contending Los Angeles Clippers team.

In terms of the second pick, I believe that Brandon Ingram was the perfect pick at the time for the Lakers and is arguably one of if not the best player in this draft class, however, there are two players who I believe are better options for the pick.

The first is Jaylen Brown who was selected just one pick after Ingram to the Boston Celtics, however, there is one other player who has further proved himself in the league to this point. That player and who if the Lakers drafted perfectly would have selected with this pick is Pascal Siakam. This pick would have sent the media into a frenzy and would have been regarded as the worst pick of the draft at the time.

Also, the Lakers would be relying on their coaching staff to develop Siakam into the player he is today. However, after slipping to the 27th overall pick being selected to the Toronto Raptors, he has blossomed into a star and a franchise player for the team. He admittedly started his career off a bit slow, however, he has greatly improved in the past two seasons.

In the 2018-2019 season, he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, along with winning the NBA Championship with the Raptors. This season he was an All-Star starter for the East and played for team Giannis. In the 2019-2020 season, he has averaged 23.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. His versatility and sizes make him capable of playing any position on the court which is extremely valuable in the league today.

With the 32nd pick, the Lakers went for size and chose a center. Knowing now that the Lakers would trade point guard D’Angelo Russell, it is clear that the point guard is a clear position of need. As a result of this, along with who is still on the draft board, I believe the Lakers should have selected Malcolm Brogdon with the 32nd overall pick. Originally, he was selected 36th overall to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Brogdon while listed as a point guard stands at 6’5″ and would be capable of playing the shooting guard position if need which means in the final season with D’Angelo on the team, either he or Brogdon could be slid to the shooting guard position while having Jordan Clarkson come off of the bench for a boost in bench scoring.

This would give the Lakers a more traditional pass-first point guard instead of a scoring point guard they would have this season with Russell. Along with this, Brogdon has established himself as a high caliber starter in the league. This season with the Indiana Pacers, he has averaged 16.3 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds. To top all of it off, he won the Rookie of the Year award for the 2016-2017 season. This would make him the steal of the draft.

While if these are the moves the Lakers made on the night of the draft, they would be deemed the laughing stock of the league and jobs could be at stake. However, if the higher-ups gave the players the time they need to develop, this would be the perfect start to the run of perfect drafts.