The Lakers have two future first round draft picks – 2027 and 2029 – that they can trade to get an established player in return.
According to the team’s general manager Rob Pelinka, Los Angeles would only trade the two picks if that would make the team more competitive immediately.
“We’re not setting this up for just the future,” he said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “Again, having guys like LeBron and Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, if we see a path to increase that delta now with the right move to get more competitive or be a championship roster, we’ll make make.
“But we’re not going to just make a move to make a move. As it’s been widely discussed in the media, we know we can trade the 27th first and the 29th first, but you only get one shot to do that because of the Stepian rule we don’t have other picks we can put into a deal.
“So it’s got to be the right deal. Sometimes the hardest thing to do as a GM is to say no to a wrong deal because there’s a lot of pressure ‘Oh you got do something, you got to do something.’ But that can actually lead to a much worse situation.”
