When you have LeBron James on your team, there’s no sense in ‘building towards the future. Especially now, at 37 years old, LeBron should be in a position where he can compete every night without having to dominate the game for 48 minutes.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case so far in Los Angeles. In fact, through the first 10 games of this season, the Lakers have looked awful — and not even the impact of LeBron (who hasn’t looked right either) has been enough to generate wins.
The current situation in Lakerland has caused many fans and experts to call for a trade, either involving Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, or even James himself.
But if the Lakers really want to maximize their ‘big three,’ they’re going to need to part with their greatest assets of all: a pair of first-round picks that are highly coveted around the league.
NBA Insider Reveals The Latest Update On Lakers’ Roster Plans
So far, the Lakers have been unwilling to trade their picks, and that apparently hasn’t changed amid the team’s struggles.
“I’m told the organization will be prudent with their first-round picks that they have available for the remainder of the decade. In 2027 and 2029. I don’t believe the Lakers are in a position right now to mortgage their future with those two available picks. Realizing that this team is probably not going to be a championship contender, might not even be a shoo-in for the playoffs the way that this season is going. They’re probably looking at marginal changes around the edges at best.. The organization seems to be moving in a direction where they’re going to resist moving 1st round picks if the season continues to go down this path.”
Shams says the Lakers will resist trading first-round picks if the season continues to go down this path. pic.twitter.com/eEscEY8JXd
— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) November 8, 2022
Without trading their stars, or any of their picks, there’s only so much this Lakers team can do to get better. Outside of their big three, the team really has no shooting or offense of any kind that can be created on its own.
Aside from a few bright spots here and there (especially for Lonnie Walker), the supporting cast just hasn’t shown any indication they can keep up with the competition.
So, this may be it for L.A. What you see is what you get, and that’s not the news Lakers fans were hoping to hear 10 games into the season.
