The Los Angeles Lakers made no major moves this summer, They’re running back most of the same roster from last year’s first-round exit with minor changes. As fans keep clamoring for a major trade, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka spoke in a press conference on Wednesday and laid out what the franchise wants if they trade their remaining first-round picks for a player.
“I think the philosophy JJ (Redick) and I are aligned on is that we want to build sustainable Lakers’ excellence. When you talk about moves, you can always make on that backfires… But every lens we look through has to lead to sustainable Lakers excellence.”
“So to answer your question, yes, we would make a trade with both our picks if it leads to sustainable excellence. We would also use one pick to make a marginal upgrade if it’s what we think is the best thing to do. We looked long and hard to see if there was a way to increase the roster talent this offseason. The right move didn’t present itself.”
“We will continue to study and scour the marketplace. If the right move presents itself which leads to long-term excellence and makes us better right now, we’ll pull the trigger.”
What Pelinka is looking for likely won’t be possible with just two first-round picks. It seems the Lakers won’t go after aging stars as ‘sustained excellence’ is made a lot easier if they acquire a star in their 20s right now, so they can take the franchise through to the post-LeBron James and Anthony Davis era.
There aren’t any obvious candidates available for the Lakers to make a run at, but we know they’ve tried acquiring the likes of Dejounte Murray, Trae Young, or Anfernee Simons with the assets at their disposal, clearly indicating the direction the franchise wants to head in with their next major acquisition.
The Lakers can currently trade unprotected first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 and have first-round pick swaps in 2026, 2028, and 2030 which can be offered.
Their 2025 first-round pick was traded to the Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis trade, which was sent to the Hawks this summer as part of the Dejounte Murray trade. Their 2029 first-round pick was traded with top-four protections in February 2023 when they dumped Russell Westbrook to the Jazz for Jarred Vanderbilt, D’Angelo Russell, and Malik Beasley.
Lakers Have An Interesting Top Trade Target This Season
The Lakers have been trying to make something happen in the NBA trade market since before the NBA Draft but haven’t been able to acquire any notable players. While the likes of Klay Thompson and Buddy Hield turned down the Lakers, they also got outbid by the Washington Wizards for Jonas Valunciunas.
The Lakers still have Valunciunas as their top trade target this season, hoping to land him once the Wizards can trade him, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“One name to watch: Jonas Valanciunas of the Washington Wizards. James offered to take a pay cut to open up the full midlevel exception to sign the free agent big man, but he opted for more guaranteed money from a three-year, $30 million deal in Washington. Still, the Lakers need a center and Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka has a proven record of getting deals done with Washington’s organization.”
Valunciunas won’t be the right choice for long-term sustained excellence, but the Lakers shouldn’t have to lose both their picks in this trade for a veteran center. He averaged 12.2 points and 8.8 rebounds last season.
The price might be higher if the Wizards threw in assets like wing sharpshooter Corey Kispert, but it seems just a Val deal shouldn’t be too hard to execute later in the season.
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