2017 NBA Draft News: Markelle Fultz says it would be ‘great’ to play for Magic Johnson with the Lakers

Lonzo Ball and his father have hardly been shy about their desire for him to end up with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 NBA Draft, and it turns out Ball may not be the only top point guard prospect that wants to wear the purple and gold moving forward.

Markelle Fultz of Washington has been much quieter than the Ball family throughout the pre-draft process (in fairness, it would be hard not to be), but in an interview on Sirius XM’s “NBA Today,” Fultz spoke about his first meeting with Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson, and it sounds like it went well.

“First of all, it was an honor to meet him. It was just picking up knowledge,” Fultz said. “Him being a point guard and him telling me little pointers of what I can do better to become a better man and player, it was unbelievable.”

After their meeting, Fultz isn’t quit ready for those “little pointers” to end. Fultz made it clear he’d be happy for Johnson and the Lakers to draft him so he could continue to pick his brain.

“I think that would be great, because I want to be the best player to ever play. My position of point guard, he's the best and knows all the tricks and everything like that, so being able to learn from one of the best point guards ever would be another plus,” Fultz said.

And while Fultz may not have any of his parents running around saying he would be better for the Golden State Warriors than Stephen Curry, that doesn’t mean he isn’t confident. Fultz says he wants to be the best player ever, yes, even better than the man he wants to be his new boss.

“Yeah. For sure, yeah,” Fultz said when asked if he wants to be better than Johnson. "I didn't tell him that, but I'm pretty sure he knows that. I don't have a problem telling him.”

Whether or not Fultz’s desire to play for Johnson is even possible will in large part be determined Tuesday night in the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery.

Fultz is widely projected to be selected with the first-overall pick, which the Lakers only have a 15.6 percent chance to receive. Even if he falls to second or third, the Lakers have a 53.1 percent chance to lose their pick entirely, so for now his chances of ending up in Los Angeles would appear slim.

Still, Lakers fans should be excited that yet another top prospect is honest about wanting to play for this new front office. It may not matter in this draft, but it’s the type of thing that can only help the team moving forward in later drafts and free agency.

Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.