Late Saturday evening, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia Sixers completed a deal for the top overall pick, which they will use on Washington guard Markelle Fultz.
After “murdering” his workout with the Lakers, Magic Johnson reportedly fell in love with Fultz.
Word out of LA is Markelle Fultz "murdered" his Lakers workout yesterday. May be "the best one" they've seen. Sadly, likely all for naught.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 16, 2017
On Friday, it was reported that the Lakers were interested in trading for that pick and on Saturday, Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reiterated that point.
Lakers had interest in pursuing a deal for No. 1 pick/Fultz, but Sixers ability to potentially deliver 3 FRP's in deal too much to overcome. https://t.co/9aBUwqVMiq
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2017
The Lakers’ spending power has been severely limited in recent seasons due to past trades. It was rumored yesterday that the team was looking to move up to the number one pick in a package that would have included Julius Randle.
However, with the gluttony of first round picks owned by the Sixers, the Lakers were likely never in the running for long as Philadelphia simply had more to get a deal done.
The Lakers, instead, will stand pat at number two with little having changed in the process of the last week. Fultz will still be the top pick and the Lakers still have a decision between Josh Jackson and Lonzo Ball looming.
There also remains a chance the Lakers move down, something that has also been rumored in recent days. Barring a drastic change in the final days leading up to the draft, however, the Lakers will stand pat moving forward.
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