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The 2020 NBA Draft is officially upon us, and the Los Angeles Lakers won’t have a pick for the first time since ... last year. That’s right: although the Lakers drafted Talen Horton-Tucker with the No. 46 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the pick technically belonged to the Orlando Magic, who traded their second-round selection to L.A. for a future pick and cash considerations.
While there haven’t been any reports that the Lakers are looking to trade into the second-round, they have interviewed and/or worked out a few of players who are expected to get drafted in the second round, including Nico Mannion, a 19-year-old guard out of Arizona, and Yoeli Childs, a 22-year-old forward out of Brigham Young University.
Granted, those workouts and interviews took place before the Lakers traded the No. 28 pick and Danny Green to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Dennis Schröder, but it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see them make a move to trade into the draft.
Even if the Lakers don’t trade into the draft, it’s still nice to get to know the future stars of the league and find out where they’re going to end up. Here’s how you can watch the 2020 NBA Draft:
Time: Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 4:30 p.m. PT
Channel: ESPN
How to watch online: fubo TV, ESPN+
It’s hard to say there’s a consensus No. 1 pick at this point, but most mock drafts, including the final mock draft from SB Nation’s draft expert Ricky O’Donnell, have the Minnesota Timberwolves taking LaMelo Ball with the No. 1 overall pick. The Lakers drafted LaMelo’s older brother Lonzo with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
After that, James Wiseman and Anthony Edwards will likely come off of the board in some order. The question is: will the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets keep their picks, or will they trade them for a player who is ready to contribute now? The Hornets have recently been linked to Russell Westbrook, and the Warriors have a $17.2 million trade exception they have to use by Monday.
Whatever ends up happening, it should be a fun one.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.