It's NBA draft lottery time -- the most wonderful (and fraught) time of the year for Lakers these days

Here we are again. The most enthralling part of the NBA postseason is upon the Lakers.

No confetti. No Game 7s. Just 14 ping-pong balls in a plastic drum that bounce around via air current, blowing franchises into or out of contention for the world's top three amateur players.

It's another mid-May,...