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NBA Rumors: Los Angeles To Trade No. 1 Pick If Lakers Win Draft Lottery

By Ernie Howell
Published on: 15:19 PST, May 3, 2016

NBA rumors are suggesting the Los Angeles Lakers would look to trade the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft should the franchise secure the first selection, multiple media outlets are reporting.

The loudest of these voices is Fox Sports talk show host Colin Cowherd. On the Tuesday The Herd show, Cowherd said two unnamed sources have repeated the same NBA rumors to the talk show host, SB Nation reported.

“I’ve now been told by two separate sources, even if the Lakers get the No. 1 pick, they’re trading it. They don’t want to rebuild anymore. They want to get a star NBA player. They will call teams if they get the No. 1 pick and shop it around the league.”

Colin Cowherd elaborated on the NBA rumors, suggesting the Los Angeles Lakers need to return to their winning ways to ensure they remain relevant in their marketing. He then returned to his assertion that the Los Angeles Lakers are done with the rebuilding process.

“They are going to trade these young guys out to get better players. They’re not going to draft Ben Simmons. They’re going to give him – if they can – to get a better player.”

These NBA rumors surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers is hypothetical as the 2016 NBA Draft is still more than a month away. But the NBA rumors could become moot as the Los Angeles Lakers have only a 55 percent chance of retaining the pick. Should the team receive a draft selection outside of the top three picks, the rights to the Los Angeles Lakers draft pick would be conveyed to the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to a 2015 trade, Bleacher Report noted.

The Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak isn’t confirming the rumor, but he does address his team’s future in a recent interview at the end of this year’s record-worst season.

“Everything’s possible. There’s three ways to improve the team: cap room, free agency and trades. We like our core of young players. We have several free agents, some of which will be restricting, that we have to make prudent decisions on. Most of which I think have already been made, but that still needs to be discussed.”

Kupchak said that he wanted the Los Angeles Lakers to consider their options if they land in the top three draft picks for this year’s draft. “If you get a top-three pick… not only does it give the ability to take a player that’s considered one of the top three in the world, but you also have the ability to move the pick.”

If the Los Angeles Lakers do retain the draft pick, there’s a chance the historic NBA franchise will select a player to go along with a young core of players. Mitch Kupchak addressed that possibility for the Los Angeles Lakers and what a future roster that has a top-three draft pick would look like.

“I can easily envision using the pick, adding that player to this team, but we would be aggressive in pursuing veteran free agents in the off-season… Depending upon the lottery and where we end up with our pick, I think we do have to address the front court. If you can put a wing player in the front court, that would be a good thing to do as well… If you are looking at players to help us win games next year, I think we need a lot of help in the front court.”

No matter what the NBA franchise does, all NBA rumors surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers have suggested the team wants to improve fast. The quickest way to improve is to focus on landing superstar athletes during the free agency period, a recent Inquisitr report suggested.

What do you think about the Los Angeles Lakers potentially trading away a top-three selection in the 2016 NBA Draft? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Photo by Harry How/Getty Images]

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