The Los Angeles Lakers have been heavily linked to both Lonzo Ball and Josh Jackson throughout the draft process, and the consensus has been that they will take one of those two players with the No. 2 pick.
Team president Magic Johnson and the rest of the front office don't appear to be satisfied with that.
The Lakers hosted projected No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz for a workout on Thursday and were so blown away by him that they are trying to trade up to get him, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
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
I'm told Fultz played competitively 2 on 2, even though that wasn't agreed to in advance. Apparently shot ball very well.Tested 40 inch vert
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 16, 2017
Multiple sources have told me that Magic "is in love" with Fultz. May try to move up to #1, possibly with a Julius Randle + #2 pick offer.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 16, 2017
The Philadelphia 76ers are currently in advanced talks with the Celtics about acquiring the No. 1 pick to draft Fultz, but no deal has been made yet. At the very least, this shows that Boston is open to trading the selection - for the right price.
It's going to take multiple first-round picks in order to get a deal done with the Celtics, who are looking to stockpile picks they can trade to the Bulls for Jimmy Butler. That could hinder LA's attempts to move up, as the 76ers possess their first-round pick in next year's draft.
A 6-foot-5, 186-pound combo guard, Fultz averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game last season.
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