NBA Rule That Should Change: Los Angeles Lakers Hat On An Indiana Pacers Draft Pick?

Many players in the NBA Draft have had to go on stage wearing hats of teams that they were not even drafted by. The Indiana Pacers drafted Isaiah Jackson, but his draft night will be a photo of him in a Los Angeles Lakers hat.

Author:
Ben Stinar
Jul 31, 2021 12:03 AM EDT

The NBA is ahead of most sports leagues in a lot of things when it comes to fan engagement, but the one thing they are still way behind on is NBA Draft night trades.

On Thursday evening, the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a blockbuster deal that sent Russell Westbrook to the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of the Athletic.

The details of the trade can be seen in a Tweet below from Charania.

The Wizards then traded the 22nd overall pick they got from the Lakers in a deal to the Indiana Pacers.

The deal was reported by Charania and can be seen below in a Tweet.

Therefore, the Lakers draft pick was then used by the Wizards, who then drafted for the Pacers, which left Isaiah Jackson on stage with a Lakers hat (see video below of him getting drafted from the NBA's Twitter).

Many players and fans over the years have had to look back on the draft night photos of players in a hat for a team they will never play for.

The NBA needs to make trades official when they actually happen, and allow for players to wear the hat of the team they were actually drafted too.

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