The Los Angeles Lakers are having a tough season once again this year after missing out on the playoffs in 2022. Fans can’t say they didn’t expect it, as the Lakers’ front office was incredibly passive and made small moves that didn’t help the Lakers come any closer to contention.
A big reason for this has been the Lakers not wanting to give up future picks after having lost most of their draft assets in the Anthony Davis trade from 2019. Any significant trade to help the Lakers compete in the West has involved their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks.
Despite some members in the organization wanting to trade the picks to get better now, Jeanie Buss has said that the team won’t sell out their future, according to a Western Conference executive.
“They have come this far without trading the two picks (in 2027 and 2029) away, and it is going to be very hard to move Russell Westbrook without putting one of those picks into the deal. You’ve got a lot of the organization saying, ‘We should trade picks and win now,’ but some in the organization are saying, ‘Do not sell out the future.’ And Jeanie Buss is with the second group, and that is what matters most.” (h/t Heavy)
Protecting your future interests is understandable, but will the picks be any more valuable than the level at which LeBron James is playing right now? Probably not, but one injury to LeBron could make this Lakers team fold like a house of cards.
Should The Lakers Go All In?
Given the roster and pre-season expectations, the Lakers are actually doing better than expected. After starting the season 2-10, not many would have said the Lakers can come back and stay within a couple of games of the playoffs, but they have done so. This is with LeBron missing time in November and Anthony Davis being out since December.
If the Lakers go all-in and move their picks for better rotational players, they could have success in this incredibly tight Western Conference. However, those moves won’t make them title contenders anyway, which is why the team could be better off waiting until the summer and targeting a big fish.
Westbrook’s contract expiring allows the Lakers to sign a near-max contract player with their space while also keeping the draft picks as assets they can then use to fill out the roster around a presumed big 3. It’s a risk to give up on this season with a plan like that, so Buss will hope it works out for her before LeBron James enters the final year of his contract next season.
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