Some narratives are more compelling than others. Just remember that the NBA is a media spectacle, and if there's a franchise that's in disarray and needs a shot in the arm, it makes sense to help that franchise to keep the league as a whole healthy. In this case, I'd imagine the Lakers' pick is the only one that the league would want to assure. Nonetheless, there will be plausible deniability because the Lakers had around a 30% chance to get in the top 2.
So a Nuggets fan on another forum points out that this is the third year in a row that the Lakers have ended up with the #2 pick. The chances of getting in the top 3 three years in a row isn't terribly high.