USA TODAY International Edition
Lakers, Kings playing waiting game
Maybe one of these days, the NBA playoff race will be the only one that matters this time of year.
But thanks to the imperfections of the league’s draft lottery system and the reality that teams still are incentivized to play the tanking game, there also is the unsavory race to the bottom to track, especially for teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, who made trades that might come back to bite them.
With most of the non- playoff crowd waiting for the May 16 draft lottery to see where their pick falls, there’s an extra layer of angst for these two squads. Prominent draft picks are at risk, the kinds of assets that offer hope for the fans and rebuilding tools for the front office executives.
A closer look:
THE LAKERS
After being bottom- feeders for four seasons now, the Lakers will have at least one first- round draft pick, thanks to the trade made by new front office head/ Lakers legend Magic Johnson with the Houston Rockets last month ( Lou Williams for Corey Brewer and the first- rounder).
The stakes: The Lakers’ 2017 first- round pick goes to the Philadelphia 76ers unless it falls in the top three. This pick was originally traded to the Phoenix Suns as part of the Steve Nash trade in July 2012, and the Suns later sent it to Philadelphia in the threeteam trade that landed them Brandon Knight. They avoided giving it up if the pick isn’t conveyed to the Sixers this year, it is unprotected in 2018.
But there’s even more to keep Johnson and new Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka up at night. If the Lakers fall out of the top three and give their pick to the Sixers, then they must also give the Orlando Magic their 2019 first- round pick. If they keep their pick, then the Magic get second- rounders in 2017 and 2018. This subsequent aspect of their pick situation is part of the August 2012 trade that sent Dwight Howard from the Magic to the Lakers.
The status: 21- 51 ( secondworst record overall, a half- game worse than Phoenix and 51⁄ be2 hind Orlando). The odds: They currently would have a 55.83% chance of landing in the top three and thus keeping the pick ( 19.9% for No. 1, 18.81% for No. 2, and 17.12% for No. 3). They would have a 31.86% chance at the No. 4 pick and a 12.31% chance at No. 5.
THE KINGS
After a decade of losing and recent years of dysfunction, isn’t it time for the Kings to catch a break, especially when some of what’s at risk isn’t the current regime’s doing?
But this much is clear about the part that does fall on Kings president of basketball operations Vlade Divac: The New Orleans Pelicans, who landed DeMarcus Cousins via trade last month, are doing the Kings a favor by playing better of late ( five wins in their last seven games).
The stakes: The first- round pick that came the Kings’ way in the Cousins trade is top- three protected, meaning they were getting a tad bit nervous when New Orleans lost six of eight games after doing the deal and upped the odds of landing in that danger zone. If Sacramento had to wait to collect on this pick, it likely would get it next season.
As part of a June 2011 trade that sent J. J. Hickson from Sacramento to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which was made by former front office head Geoff Petrie, the Kings’ first- rounder goes to the Chicago Bulls, unless it’s in the top 10. If the Bulls don’t get it this year, then the Kings give Chicago a 2017 second- rounder that is protected for picks 56 through 60.
The Sixers have the right to swap first- round picks this June with the Kings, who agreed to this as part of the Jason Thompson/ Carl Landry/ Nik Stauskas salary dump deal in July 2015. This only applies to the Kings’ pick, should they keep it.
The status: The Kings are 2745 ( tied with Philadelphia and the New York Knicks for fifthworst record). The Pelicans are 30- 42 ( ninth worst).
The odds: As it stands, the Kings can rest relatively easy when it comes to the Pelicans pick ( New Orleans would have a 6.11% chance of landing a topthree selection). Ditto for the pick that could go to Chicago, as the Kings have a 41⁄ 2- game buffer when it comes to real danger on this front.
But when it comes to the possible pick swap with the Sixers, the Kings- 76ers dead heat means the swap is in play.
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