LOS ANGELES_After all the proclamations, the headlines and the smokescreens, the team selecting second in this year's draft made the obvious choice.
Lonzo Ball is a Los Angeles Laker.
The Lakers had 2{ minutes left on the clock when Ball's agent handed him a phone. Seconds later the whole table _ all three Ball brothers, patriarch LaVar, two friends, and, most importantly, Lonzo himself _ grinned as they took in the moment.
The Lakers selected the UCLA star one pick after the Philadelphia 76ers took Markelle Fultz, the point guard out of the University of Washington.
This is the third consecutive year the Lakers have had the second overall pick. They took point guard D'Angelo Russell in 2015 and forward Brandon Ingram in 2016.
Earlier this week, the Lakers traded Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for center Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the draft. The move cleared space at point guard for the Lakers to draft Ball.
