NBA Trade Rumors: Top Reports Surfacing After 2016 Draft Lottery

The NBA draft lottery ended with no movement along the first round, but that doesn’t mean the drama is over. Now that the picks are set, the trade market will only heat up.

This draft class features two potential superstars in Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram and then a second tier of talent. There is certainly a lot of depth in this group with players who will make an impact, but the jumbled nature will make any deals difficult to predict.

Still, you can expect a lot of phone calls to be made as teams try to gauge the value of their selections leading up to the June 23 draft. Here is a look at the latest buzz surrounding teams trying to make a deal.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers were fortunate to retain their first-round selection. If the pick landed outside of the top three—which was a 44.2 percent chance heading into the lottery—it would have gone to the Philadelphia 76ers.

While the front office can celebrate for a brief moment, the attention now turns to what the team will do with this pick. The easy guess is just for the team to pick whichever player is left of Simmons and Ingram while adding to the young core already on the roster.

Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding hears another option:

The Lakers will actively explore trading the pick. They want to get better as soon as possible—in part to make sure Philadelphia doesn’t get too good of a pick next year when the Lakers’ first-rounder conveys to the 76ers if it’s outside the top three. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak is also seeking a better blend of youth and experience on the roster.

Kupchak initially denied any such rumors of a trade before the lottery, explaining how he didn’t want to get ahead of himself, via Serena Winters of Lakers Nation:

Kupchak (on ESPN710) said he got “a chuckle” when he read rumors that Lakers plan to trade draft pick: “I have no idea where that came from”

— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) May 6, 2016

Kupchak: “I’m superstitious enough that I’m not going to look to do something or take something for granted before we have it.” (on ESPN710)

— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) May 6, 2016

Now that Los Angeles does have the pick, however, it’s very possible the organization changes its tune and starts looking for a way to improve the …

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