In the NBA, winning is everything. But sometimes, winning is not good for the team. Losing can mean everything to an NBA team especially if it involves future first round picks. It's a very tricky situation, choosing whether to win or to lose games. The Los Angeles Lakers are in that dilemma.
The Los Angeles Lakers latest win against the Phoenix Suns could be detrimental to their future plans, according to a report from the SB Nation. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 122-110 last Thursday night.
Currently, the Los Angeles Lakers are the second worst team in the NBA. Only the Brooklyn Nets have the worst record in the NBA. They have a pretty good chance of landing the top pick in this year's NBA draft, which is considered to be a deep draft.
The problem for the Los Angeles Lakers is that their first round pick is top three protected, meaning the Los Angeles Lakers would have to land in the top three in this year's lottery in order for them not to lose their first round pick. The top three protected first round pick was a result of the trade that brought Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers traded their two first round pick to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Steve Nash back in 2012, via a report from ESPN. One of those picks was top five protected in last year's draft.
The Phoenix Suns traded that pick to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the Brandon Knight for Michael Carter-Williams trade. The Los Angles Lakers last year picked Brandon Ingram number 2 overall. As a result, this year's first round pick is top three protected.
If the Los Angeles Lakers' draft pick this year lands in the top three, the Phoenix Suns would then get the Los Angeles Lakers first round pick next year. That's why the Los Angeles Lakers' win against the Phoenix Suns was huge.
If the Los Angeles Lakers keep on beating teams like the Phoenix Suns, there's a good chance that their first round pick this year would fall well below the top three. At his rate, the Los Angeles Lakers need to start losing games, big time tanking.
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