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The Los Angeles Lakers will have the No. 25 pick in the 2018 NBA draft after the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the New York Knicks on Wednesday. The Lakers acquired the Cavaliers’ top-three protected pick at the trade deadline in February.
The Lakers will not have their own pick in the upcoming draft because of the infamous Steve Nash sign-and-trade in 2012, but they will have Cleveland’s first-round pick and the Denver Nuggets’ second-round pick.
They could use Cleveland’s pick to try and find another gem in the draft, something they have had a knack for in recent years, or they could use it in a package deal to rid themselves of Luol Deng’s contract, which still has two years left on it.
The 2018 NBA draft will be held on June 21 at 4 p.m. PT.