In the days leading up to the 2018 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers made a move that raised some eyebrows by trading a future second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 39 pick in the draft.
This year’s draft class was especially deep and there were still a handful of intriguing, high-profile prospects on the board when the Lakers were on the clock with the No. 39 pick, such as De’Anthony Melton, Keita Bates-Diop and Bruce Brown, to name a few. They also could have also tried to package both of their second-round picks to move up.