The Metropolitan Division is one of the more intriguing segments of the NHL when it comes to prospects. No one expected the Hurricanes to be the last team standing in the Metro this season, but here we are. But the Canes also have some solid layers to their organization that will allow them to continue to be competitive regardless of what happens this offseason.

Beyond them, most teams are in various stages of either rebuilding or retooling, but then there are also two long-term contenders that lack the prospect depth of their division rivals and another team regrouping from a go-for-broke run that ended earlier than hoped. And two Metropolitan clubs have the opening two picks of the 2019 NHL draft. Here's a look at where things stand for each Metropolitan team as we close out 2019.

Note: "A" prospects have a higher potential of being impact NHL players, while "B" prospects are more likely to be everyday players and contributors on NHL rosters, based on what I've seen to date.

Carolina Hurricanes

A prospect: Martin Necas
B prospects: Jake Bean, Aleksi Saarela, Stelio Mattheos, Morgan Geekie, Alex Nedeljkovic, Julien Gauthier and Janne Kuokkanen

The Hurricanes have done well in loading up their NHL roster to make this run to the Eastern Conference final, but they have a second wave of prospects that is particularly strong. Necas has taken a nice step forward in his first full season of North American pro hockey, and Bean is looking like a fringe "A" prospect based on his first professional season. Saarela and Geekie should also have a shot at pushing for roster spots next season depending on how the offseason shakes out, and Nedeljkovic is looking more and more like an NHL goaltender. It's more likely he's a No. 2, but he could still develop into a starter.

The Hurricanes may not have a ton of elite prospects, but they have a large number of players developed in the AHL who could help filter into their lineup over the next two seasons or be possible bargaining chips in trades. Carolina is in a really good spot right now.

Breakout prospect: Jake Bean

Columbus Blue Jackets

Anthony Martial is safe at Manchester United because he is one of Joel Glazer's favourite players, sources have told ESPN FC.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and previous boss Jose Mourinho have had concerns about the Frenchman's attitude in training and games. But the 23-year-old is likely to earn a reprieve at Old Trafford this summer because he is a personal favourite of the co-chairman.

Martial signed a new long-term contract in January but has since scored just twice in 13 appearances. He managed nine goals in his 18 previous games before agreeing fresh terms.

He missed out on a place in Solskjaer's starting XI for the final game of the season against Cardiff -- despite injuries to Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez -- with the Norwegian instead handing a full debut to 17-year-old Mason Greenwood.

Martial's future was up in the air 12 months ago but any suggestion the winger could be sold was blocked by Glazer and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. United are also ready to reject any bids for the former Monaco man this summer.

He is likely to be part of Solskjaer's squad next season despite the United manager's intention to embark on a major overhaul after finishing a mammoth 32 points behind champions Manchester City.

Sources have told ESPN FC he is keen to improve every area of his team with a defender, a central midfielder and a forward his priorities. There could be as many as five new arrivals with Solskjaer hoping to conclude the bulk of his transfer business before the players report back to Carrington for the start of preseason training on July 1.

Antonio Valencia and Ander Herrera have confirmed they will leave on free transfers at the end of the month and there are also doubts over a host of other senior players including Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Juan Mata, Lukaku and Sanchez.

Former batsman Peter Fulton will replace Craig McMillan as New Zealand's batting coach after the World Cup ends in England in July. McMillan is stepping down after holding the role for nearly five years.

"We're delighted to have Pete come on board after the World Cup and are confident he will be a good fit for our environment," New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. "We had a thorough process and utilised our senior players to help assess all the candidates.

"Pete obviously has a good understanding of batting, but he also demonstrated a clear vision for helping our elite batsmen. He's shown he has the coaching skills through his work with the New Zealand Under 19s and our winter training squads, while we know from his playing days that he will certainly add to our team culture."

New Zealand's last league match at the World Cup - against England - is scheduled for July 3 and the tournament ends on July 14 but Fulton's role will officially begin on July 1.

"Like many Kiwis, I've watched and admired the way the team's gone about their business in recent years and so it's pretty special to be invited back into the set-up," Fulton said.

"We've obviously got some really talented batsmen in the country and I'm looking forward to working with them to see how they can continue improving their games."

Fulton played 84 international matches for New Zealand - 23 Tests, 49 ODIs and 12 T20Is - from 2006 to 2014, scoring 2428 runs and three centuries. His last game for New Zealand was a Test against West Indies in June 2014, and he retired from first-class cricket in April 2017 after representing Canterbury for 16 years. Fulton also served as the New Zealand Under-19 coach after that.

Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada will both play in South Africa's World Cup opener against England on May 30. Despite injuries to both quicks that cut short their IPL stints, that was the message from coach Ottis Gibson as South Africa embarked on a week-long camp ahead of their departure for England on May 19.

"There was an issue with KG [Rabada] and there was an issue with Dale, but we feel that those guys are on track," Gibson said. "There's nothing that people should be alarmed about. They're going to both make full recoveries and be able to take their place at the World Cup."

A World Cup squad that had members spread across South Africa, England and India reconnected in Cape Town on Tuesday, taking a team hike up Table Mountain. Despite the beginnings of a winter chill in the Cape air, it was a tranquil setting for the squad to reconvene in. Likewise, Gibson cut a serene figure - no doubt buoyed by the knowledge that he will have his two best quicks in the team come May 30.

"Excellent" was the word Gibson used to describe the mood in his camp. "We've been away from each other, all over the world and so on," he said. "To have everybody back is awesome. The fact that the guys who played in the IPL final also turned up in good health is also very nice.

"One thing I really enjoy about this group is, when we come together, we really come together. There was all sorts of 'bromance' and hugging and people connecting with each other going on last night. We waited for the IPL guys to get off the plane about 4 O'clock yesterday, and we had a nice little session. We went for a team meal last night and got together and started our conversations around how we're going to approach the World Cup journey."

Traditionally, South Africa start their World Cup journeys in world-beating form as tournament favourites. Traditionally, that hasn't ended well, but Gibson insisted that his side is making a "fresh start" without the weight of history or expectation on their shoulders.

"What's in the past is gone," he said. "We're not taking the past with us to this World Cup. It's a new adventure for us.

"At the end of the day, you're playing the same cricket you played against Sri Lanka a couple of months ago and Pakistan before that. We're not building it up to be anything other than what it is. It's still cricket."

Despite the good news about Steyn and Rabada, there are still some unresolved issues in Gibson's team. One of them is the form of Hashim Amla, who will take an ODI average of 56.73 in England with him into the World Cup, but who, after a mini-resurgence against Pakistan, suffered another form slump at the end of the season. Amla even went as far as stepping away from the Cape Cobras set-up midway through the CSA T20 Challenge, looking to clear his mind and get back to his best, and has been working with batting coach Dale Benkenstein. But even here, Gibson sees "no real dramas".

"Hash just wanted to get away from the T20 bubble of trying to hit every ball," Gibson said. "Obviously he wasn't scoring big runs, so he felt like that was hampering his own preparation and his mindset of playing in England. We felt it was important to give him the space to do that. There was no real dramas of removing him from that T20 atmosphere."

While South Africa are flying under the radar into this World Cup, there has been a lot of focus on hosts England and Gibson didn't mask his pleasure that the spotlight is on the hosts, rather than his side. He also backed fellow Barbadian Jofra Archer to feature in England's World Cup plans, saying the allrounder would add "some spice" to the home attack.

"They're the favourites, aren't they?" Gibson said. "Everybody's talking about them as favourites. I recall Jimmy Anderson saying some time ago that they'll have to do something terrible not to win the World Cup, which is good for them. They're still playing well. They've got a good thing going.

"For us, to play the No. 1 team in the world, the favourite in the tournament, in their own country as well, in the first game, is great for us because it gives us a feeling of where we are as a team. We're not the favourites anymore. Normally we've gone as the favourites and it's not gone so well, so we're happy to fly a little bit under the radar and produce our best on the pitch.

"Jofra Archer will add some spice to their attack, no doubt. I can't see how they're not going to pick him to be honest. Which is obviously good for him. He's a guy from my hometown, from Barbados, so I'd be very pleased to see him putting on an England shirt and playing in the World Cup. We're looking forward to that game."

Perhaps, the only issue that might seem to grate Gibson was how much preparation time he has been given with his team. While England and Australia had pulled all of their players out of the IPL by May 1, key members of South Africa's squad remained in India until the very end, with Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir and Quinton de Kock all playing in the final - despite Gibson's request that they come home early.

"In an ideal world, we'd like to be perhaps playing some games now," he said. "We've got three days in Pretoria where we'll be doing some skills-specific stuff and then when we get to England those two [warm-up] games give us our only match preparation going into the World Cup, so we'll have to use them to get a lot of guys up to speed.

"In an ideal world, we would have wanted more time. We tried to get more, but it wasn't possible, so we have to work with what we have."

Queensland have not offered a state contract to Chris Lynn as Australian states wrestle with how to contract limited-overs specialists.

In the 2018-19 season, Lynn was the leading run-scorer in the JLT Cup, Australia's 50-over domestic competition, making 452 runs at 75.33, including two centuries and striking at 117.70. He was selected in Australia's ODI side for the three-match series against South Africa last November and at the time was seen as a key component to Australia's World Cup chances.

But after modest returns in that series he was dropped from the ODI set-up and was not considered for the World Cup squad and for the 50-over A squad that will tour the UK during the World Cup.

Queensland released their 2019-20 contract list on Wednesday and Lynn was a notable absentee after being a late addition to the list in 2018-19. Bulls' coach Wade Seccombe stated Lynn remained an important part of Queensland's plans for 2019-20 despite not being contracted.

"Chris is very much in our thinking for our one-day set-up in light of his performances last summer and we will work closely with him in the lead-up to the season once again," Seccombe said.

The JLT Cup is expected to shift from a month-long tournament format at the start of the season to being interspersed with the Sheffield Shield across the summer, making it harder for states to predict player availability. Lynn hasn't played a Sheffield Shield match since March 2017, instead opting to focus on playing franchise T20 cricket globally.

ESPNcricinfo is aware of at least one other state that had an issue negotiating a contract with a white-ball specialist for the 2019-20 domestic season. English county cricket has white-ball contracts to allow players to be signed for T20s and 50-over cricket only, but with separate BBL franchises and contracts there is no such provision for Australian states at present under the current contracting system. Non-contracted players can be upgraded to full contracts during the season. Lynn would only need to play four List A matches to qualify for a contract on that basis.

Alister McDermott, son of former Queensland and Australia quick Craig McDermott, has been awarded a contract after three years out of the Bulls squad. Exciting young batsman Max Bryant and left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann have been upgraded to full contracts from rookie deals last year.

Veteran fast bowler Luke Feldman announced his retirement at the end of the Sheffield Shield season while Peter George and Sam Truloff missed out on contracts for 2019-20.

Queensland Men's 2019-20 Squad: Usman Khawaja, Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Charlie Hemphrey, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Alister McDermott, Michael Neser, James Peirson, Lachlan Pfeffer, Jack Prestwidge, Matt Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Jack Wildermuth Rookies Blake Edwards, Corey Hunter, Nathan McSweeney, Bryce Street, Connor Sully, Matthew Willans

South Africa's stand-in captain, Sune Luus, has called her bowling attack "the best in the world" and backed them to make a dent in Pakistan's line-up in the five upcoming Twenty20 Internationals between the two sides.

After sharing the spoils in a one-day series that ended 1-1, with the third match tied, South Africa and Pakistan meet in the first T20I in Pretoria on Wednesday, and Luus expected conditions to favour batting.

"At this time of the year, the pitches in South Africa play mostly the same," Luus said. "The three pitches we played on [in the ODIs] were kind of the same. They're just flat wickets. I think we expect the same here. It's going to be a good contest for the batsmen to showcase their talent.

"It's still going to be a bit tough for our pace bowlers, but we know how great they are," she added. "They're the best bowling attack in the world. The way they've stepped up so far has been really good."

South Africa have two bowlers - Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail - ranked among the top 10 ODI bowlers in the world, with Ismail also ranked joint fifth in T20Is. Four of the top five wicket-takers in the ODI series were also part of the home side, and Ismail backed the bowling unit to carry their form into the T20s.

"It's a mindset for us," Ismail said. "I always say it's 80% mental and 20% skill. So for me it's about going out there and quickly getting the change up between the fifty over and the T20s. We love the adrenaline. The girls love the T20 format much more than the ODI stuff.

"I don't want to say too much and give out our secrets, but we'll go out there and work a lot on our variations," Ismail added. "The batters are going to come after us. They always say it's a batter's game, but we bowlers never believe that. We have to go out there and use our variations, and think cricket."

Luus admitted that the tied ODI series was "not ideal", but insisted that her batting unit had regained any confidence they lost after being bowled out for 63 in the opening match. "A positive we can take out of the three games is the way our batters came back in the second and third ODIs. That was brilliant to see, and all of the batters have huge confidence going into the T20s."

The upcoming series marks the latest phase of preparation for next year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia, with South Africa keen to begin putting their plans in place for the global showpiece.

The tournament is just over ten months away, and South Africa are aiming to use the series as a platform to evaluate different variations against a plucky Pakistan side - ranked seventh to the Proteas women's sixth place in T20 cricket.

"It's still a bit difficult with injuries, and having to leave Dane van Niekerk out of the side, but we want to get that winning formula and combinations," Luus explained. "Going into these five T20s, it's a good opportunity for us to experiment and to see more or less what the batting line-up will be like and who will bowl where. The World Cup is still a long way away and anything can happen between now and then.

"It's a good opportunity for the girls to showcase their talent and put their hand up for the selectors to say that 'We are here and we are ready for the World Cup'."

Tasmania captain Matthew Wade is set to give up wicketkeeping in Sheffield Shield cricket next season in order to boost his chances of a Test recall as a specialist batsman.

ESPNCricinfo understands that the Tigers inquired with several wicketkeepers around the country prior to the state contract deadline last Friday before ultimately deciding that contracted batsman Jake Doran would be the best pick for the big gloves in Shield games when Australia Test captain and wicketkeeper Tim Paine is unavailable, to allow Wade to play as a specialist batsman for the long-term.

Doran played as Tasmania's specialist wicketkeeper in seven Shield games in 2016-17. He also kept briefly for Tasmania in a Shield game in March. Paine was rested for the match against Victoria, and though Wade kept for the majority of the game, he handed over the gloves to Doran in both innings when he bowled. Doran also kept for the Cricket Australia XI against Sri Lanka in Hobart, with Paine helping him with his wicketkeeping preparation for that game. Tasmania believe Doran could make a good long-term wicketkeeper-batsman at the first-class level. Another Tigers batsman, Ben McDermott, is also capable of keeping if necessary, having kept for Australia at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup.

Wade is likely to continue to keep in 50-over cricket for Tasmania and in the BBL for Hobart Hurricanes, in the same way Peter Handscomb has for Victoria and Melbourne Stars and Cameron Bancroft has for Perth Scorchers, but wants to press his claims to play Test cricket as a specialist batsman.

Wade was selected for the Australia A tours of England after a stunning season where he made 1,800 runs across all three formats, including 1,021 Shield runs at an average of 60.05 with two centuries and eight half-centuries. Shield champions Victoria rated Wade as the best domestic batsman in the country by some margin after he made scores of 137 and 86 against them last season. He was also named Australian Domestic Player of the Year at the Australian Cricket Awards.

But Wade was overlooked by Australia's selectors in January when the Test side was revamped for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka following the 2-1 series loss to India. National chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said at the time that Wade had been batting too low at No. 6 for Tasmania to be considered as a batsman and coach Justin Langer said they continued to view Wade as a wicketkeeper first.

Wade voiced his frustration at that scenario in January on SEN. "That's the reason that I'm getting, that puts me in a position that's quite tough because I don't want to be shuffling players around in the Tassie order just for me to be picked for Australia," Wade said. "I feel like if I give up the gloves completely, go bat at four, it doesn't pan out as well, I feel like the next thing I'll be hearing is I can't be picked as the back-up keeper because I'm not keeping.

"It's a tough situation to be in, I'm not really sure what we're going to do. I'm not going to do it just for my own good."

Wade moved to No. 4 for Tasmania after the BBL and scored 450 runs in eight innings against the Dukes ball playing predominantly as a specialist bat, with the exception of the game Paine was rested for.

Wade and Marcus Harris were the first players since 2014-15 to make 1,000 runs in a Shield season. Only five players have achieved that milestone since 2008. Chris Rogers and Adam Voges both achieved the feat and went on to make five Test hundreds for Australia, and both did so after their 35th birthdays. Michael Klinger scored 1,000 runs in two separate seasons, 2008-09 and 2014-15, but never played Test cricket. He played three T20Is for Australia in 2017.

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke stated as far back as 2012, after Wade's maiden Test century in Dominica, that Wade was more than capable of playing Test cricket as a specialist batsman. "Wadey, if he plays like that, certainly will continue to put pressure on not only the wicketkeeper's spot but a batsman's position too," Clarke had said. "That's something the selectors will have to worry about in time."

But, more recently, former selectors Mark Waugh and Darren Lehmann both referenced Wade's modest overall record for Australia as a reason for him not to be selected again in Test cricket, although both felt he could still be considered ODI or T20I cricket.

Wade made two Test centuries batting at No. 6 as a wicketkeeper in 22 Tests, but only averaged 28.58. He has one ODI century and ten half-centuries in 80 innings, but only strikes at 82.11.

Steve Waugh averaged 28.73 in his first 22 Test matches with just eight fifties and no centuries batting predominantly at Nos. 6 and 7. Waugh only made nine half-centuries in his first 80 ODI innings striking at 73.87, albeit a very different era of limited-overs cricket. Steve Waugh was only 23 at that stage of his career compared to Wade, who is 31.

Mark Waugh has also noted Wade's age as a factor against his future selection. But, for reference, Michael Hussey represented Australia 268 times across all three formats after his 31st birthday, making 10,071 runs, including 18 centuries, in six-and-a-half years of international cricket. Shaun Marsh turns 36 in July and was handed a Cricket Australia contract despite currently only being a one-format player.

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry apologized for cursing in the NBA draft lottery room Tuesday night. But it was for good reason.

Gentry learned that the Pelicans won the right to draft Duke sensation Zion Williamson despite the team having just 6 percent odds to land the No. 1 pick.

"They started calling out the numbers. We obviously got this seed sheet, and I am trying to look through it and find out our numbers," Gentry said afterward. "I find the first number, then the second number and then the third, and I'm like, 'Oh s---.'

"The fourth one comes up, I try to look at all our combinations and then they said, 'The winner is the New Orleans Pelicans.' And I said, 'F--- yeah!' And then I said, 'Excuse me, I'm sorry.'"

Williamson, who averaged 21.8 points and 8.8 rebounds as a true freshman for Duke last season, sat in the front row when the draft lottery took place in Chicago.

The 2019 Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, Williamson was hoping to get selected by the New York Knicks, a source told ESPN's The Undefeated. The final four picks in the draft lottery came down to the Pelicans, Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies. After it was announced the Pelicans landed the top pick, Williamson bolted out of the room without a verbal reaction.

Gentry and new Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin were ecstatic. Both are hopeful that landing Williamson could convince All-Star forward Anthony Davis to rescind a trade demand and play with the heralded youngster and guard Jrue Holiday in New Orleans.

"Guys, the one thing you got to understand is, [Davis] is still on our roster," Gentry said. "He is on our roster. All of that will take care of itself. I'm not worried about it. I know Griff has some plans to talk to him, and it will be fine."

Said Griffin: "I hope we build something that attracts elite players. I want it to be something that people want to be part of. Maybe this jump-starts the process. Elite talent likes to play with elite talent."

Asked on a conference call with local reporters if he would require a "king's ransom" in order to trade Davis, Griffin replied, "From my perspective, I want Anthony Davis to want what we're doing. I want Anthony Davis to want to be part of this. And I'm not focused on much of anything other than, 'Let's get better tomorrow.' If Anthony wants to buy into that, that's fantastic. And if he doesn't, then we'll deal with it when it's appropriate."

Also sitting in the front row at the draft lottery was Murray State point guard Ja Morant, who is expected to be the second overall pick. The Grizzlies landed the second overall pick.

"I really didn't have any [emotions]," Morant told The Undefeated. "I really was just excited to see it all play out with how it went. I'm not disappointed. They still got the same player that is still going to go in and work like I've been doing ...

"I just play my game. I will just try and make an impact. With my [basketball] IQ, I feel like I will be able to make plays for me and my teammates."

ESPN's Mike Triplett contributed to this report.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Stephen Curry's hair was quite a bit longer when the Golden State Warriors run of Finals appearances started back in 2015. His body was quite a bit spryer back then, too. But as the NBA world focuses intently on the Warriors' future -- with Kevin Durant approaching free agency -- Curry and his teammates have been looking a lot like the original group that started this dynastic run.

"That's when we first learned to play like this," Curry told ESPN late Tuesday night after scoring 36 points in a 116-94 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. "We're in that flow again."

That flow is what made the Warriors "the Warriors" all those years ago. More than Curry's 3-point shooting or Draymond Green's positional versatility, Golden State's identity was formed by its ability to flow. To move the ball. Make the extra pass. Run off screens. Create a collective energy that overwhelms defenses focused on individual matchups. When the Warriors are humming, it's the basketball equivalent of a great jazz band. Each player has his solo moments to shine, but they have to harmonize and flow together to elevate as a group and win.

Over the five years, all sorts of things have disrupted this flow. Ego, hubris, complacency, fatigue. Some would point to Kevin Durant's individual brilliance as another force that can disrupt. But that would be reductionist.

The Warriors can flow just fine with Durant. They just don't have to.

"Kevin moves well, too," Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser explained. "But sometimes he's so good he doesn't have to. You just throw him the ball."

With Durant sidelined with a calf injury the past two and a half games, the Warriors have had to go back to a simpler time. To the way they played before Durant changed the NBA landscape in 2016.

They won the 2015 title playing like this. Then they won a record 73 regular season games in 2016. Curry won back-to-back MVP awards.

It was a hell of a run. The Warriors were fun and new and relatable to kids with Curry as their baby-faced assassin. Winning started to change that reputation. But really it was adding Durant that turned the Warriors into the bully.

The Warriors have never particularly enjoyed being the villain. Their style is joyous, so it hurts their soul to find motivation elsewhere.

And with Durant out these last few games, they've been able to recapture what this used to feel like.

"You see the morale, like everybody's shoulders are up and smiles," Curry said. "Just aggressiveness all over the floor; whether that's setting a screen or swing, swing or cutting hard, all that type of stuff. When you create good shots that way, it's fun for everybody."

Thirteen Warriors appeared in Tuesday's game and all 13 had a positive impact when they were on the floor. Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala were +16, Green, Jonas Jerebko and Quinn Cook were +12, while Curry was +10.

After relying on their starters to play nearly 40 minutes a game in the previous series against Houston, stealing this many minutes from their bench is critical for Golden State. They are still loaded with star power, but the Warriors aren't nearly as deep as previous iterations. So as they go deeper into the playoffs, and the injuries to stars like Durant and DeMarcus Cousins mount, it's critical not to overload the remaining stars.

When the Warriors play with the flow they found in Game 6 against the Rockets, and again Tuesday against a clearly fatigued Portland team, the rising tide lifts everyone.

"You have the capability to expand the bench and fill minutes with guys that are obviously capable, can help us on the floor on both ends," Curry said. "And you see like the confidence that they play with, you know, regardless of what the situation is, that's contagious for sure."

Watching that contagion the last few games has been a pleasant throwback for those who have lived through this entire run. Like smelling cologne you used to love. It'll never smell the same as it did in 2015, but sometimes that whiff is enough.

"That was my favorite game since I've owned the team -- other than the championships," Warriors owner Joe Lacob said of the Game 6 win in Houston. "I always put Oklahoma City, 2016, Game 6. I love that. But this was more of a team victory. So... I've actually decided that was my favorite game."

And that feeling, that style of play continued on Tuesday against the Blazers.

"In the Clippers series, the narrative was that [Durant] is the greatest player in the world, this is Kevin's team. Now it's Steph's team. I don't view it that way. We're a team. The word should be T-E-A-M," Lacob said. "When we beat LeBron, 3 out of 4 times. When we go up against Harden and Houston.

"It's team, versus individual. It's team, versus isolation. That is really the story."

After what has been a chaotic start to the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers were one of the big winners in Tuesday's NBA draft lottery, and they could parlay their new fourth overall draft pick into a potential trade for an All-Star.

An ecstatic Rob Pelinka, the Lakers general manager, said the team will either draft an impact player or try to see what it can get on the trade market after the team surprisingly leaped from 11th to fourth overall.

"This is a powerful asset for us," Pelinka said on a conference call. "We owe a commitment to our fans to have an outstanding season next year. What this does is it gives us the ability to either select an impact player at [No.] 4 or possibly use this as an extremely valuable asset in trade."

The Lakers are fixated on landing another max free-agent star to help LeBron James, and they could have $32.5 million to use in free agency.

Prior to the trade deadline this past season, Pelinka and the Lakers had been focused on trying to strike a trade for New Orleans' Anthony Davis. Now Pelinka has the fourth overall pick as well as a young core of up-and-coming players in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart.

This is the fourth time in five years that the Lakers will pick in the top four of the lottery after having the second overall pick in 2015 (D'Angelo Russell), 2016 (Ingram) and 2017 (Ball). ESPN's Jonathan Givony has Vanderbilt's 6-foot-3 guard Darius Garland, Virginia's 6-foot-8 defensive forward De'Andre Hunter, Texas Tech's 6-foot-6 guard Jarrett Culver and Duke's 6-foot-9 forward Cam Reddish listed after the top three prospects.

"I think it's an extraordinary shift for us," Pelinka said. "I mean, top-five picks in the draft, if you go back in the history and study them, those picks can alter and impact franchises. This is a big moment for us. Last year, of course, we had to go through some hard and difficult things that this is certainly a great silver lining. Our dedication is really toward our fans right now and doing all we can to deliver a really special Lakers season for our fans."

This was certainly a win for the Lakers in what has been a tumultuous offseason for the franchise. Magic Johnson stunned the NBA world by stepping down before the Lakers' regular-season finale and that was followed by Luke Walton's exit and a failed contract negotiation with Ty Lue. Earlier this week, the Lakers hired Frank Vogel as their new head coach and added Jason Kidd as an assistant.

"The biggest motto is just laser focus, head down, do the work," Pelinka said in his first comments since the season ended on what the past month has been like for him and the Lakers. "And I think that we've been trying as an organization to just be methodical and continue a path forward and doing the work ... to make the Lakers a successful organization for our fan base, and that's really the course and the path that we've been on. This is just a burst of goodwill for us as a franchise and it just gives us some excitement and a nice launching pad going into next year."

"I had asked my son, who is 11... what should I bring to the draft lottery for good luck," Pelinka added. "He said, Dad, just bring some optimism. He said the world needs more optimism."