ESPN Insider Request

[SourGrapes]

Thanks in advance.

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story...lton-chad-ford

[SourGrapes]

Will ESPN keep up it's anti-Lakers bias? Only time will tell

[SourGrapes]

Bump

[Hey Yo]

Will ESPN keep up it's anti-Lakers bias? Only time will tell

In 3yrs, they have them ranked 24th overall.

After the worst three-season stretch in franchise history, there are finally reasons for the Lakers to believe they can turn things around sooner rather than later.

Lottery luck smiled on the Lakers, who kept their pick, which could yield either Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons. Whichever player the Lakers draft will join a young core headlined by last year's No. 2 pick, D'Angelo Russell, who showed All-Star promise during a rocky rookie season.

The young core might make it easier for the Lakers to attract free agents than it was with Kobe Bryant's salary swallowing up much of their cap space. L.A. will have $50-plus million to spend this summer, and can roll that over for a monster 2017 crop of free agents.

Still, even with Luke Walton signing on as head coach, we're skeptical of Lakers management making the right choices if top-tier stars aren't interested in L.A.

--Kevin Pelton