Incoming Lakers head coach Luke Walton had a brief heart attack Tuesday night after being tricked into thinking Los Angeles had lost its ultra-valuable top-three protected pick.
Not to worry, Luke: the Purple and Gold will be picking second overall in the NBA Draft this summer.
Before lottery, Warriors PR czar Raymond Ridder texted Luke Walton that Lakers got 4th pick. Luke fell for the prank, now has last laugh.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) May 18, 2016
No. 2 pick, here we come! #GoLakers pic.twitter.com/o3WkbuHBvc
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 18, 2016
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was relieved by the news, and says the team is in a much better spot than they were a year ago.
Per the LA Times:
The Lakers would have lost their top-three protected pick had two teams passed them in the 14-team lottery. There was a 44.2% chance that would happen.
The typically stoic Kupchak even managed a grin afterward. It certainly beat chagrin, in his mind. […] The lottery provided “drama that really, at this stage of my life, is unnecessary,” the 61-year-old Kupchak said.
Their first-round pick in the 2017 draft will again be top-three protected, not that Kupchak wanted to be reminded of it. […] “I don’t want to be here next year,” he said, repeating it for emphasis.