There’s only one reason the Los Angeles Lakers do not want to trade their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks. They’re hoping to use those picks to trade for a third superstar like Bradley Beal or Zach LaVine next summer.
When you sift through the conflicting rumors, it’s obvious the one thing that has kept the Lakers from making a trade in the past and is keeping them from making a trade today is their fixation on a third superstar.
The latest reports suggest the Lakers now plan to save their two tradeable first round picks and use them in a blockbuster, 3-pick trade next summer for a third superstar like Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, or Kyrie Irving.
That means the Lakers will likely hold onto their chips as long as possible and wait until the February 9 trade deadline before doing anything to help the current roster and won’t include their 2027 or 2029 pick in any trades.
In many ways, the Lakers are playing a very dangerous game that could easily backfire and end up costing them their future with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and their alliance with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports.
Let’s take a closer look at three questions the Lakers need to address to make sure their pursuit of a third superstar won’t doom the current season, cost them their two superstars, and put the future of the franchise at risk.
Should Lakers Even Pursue a Third Superstar?
The Russell Westbrook experiment should have showed the Lakers signing or trading for a third superstar makes it hard to build a quality roster since all you are able to afford are players earning the league minimum salary.
So even if the Lakers were able to trade for Zach LaVine, who would be a better fit because he’s young, talented, can shoot the three, and is repped by Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, there’s more than just fit to consider.
The NBA has always been a superstars’ league and the Lakers’ legacy is filled with legends but the purple and gold have won more rings with just two superstars rather than three, including the last six championships.
There’s a reason why three Kobe and Shaq, two Kobe and Pau, and one LeBron and AD two-superstar teams won the Lakers’ last six titles: they surrounded their two superstars with deep, talented, versatile benches.
That doesn’t mean you can’t win NBA championships with three superstars. The Lakers won five championships with Magic, Worthy, and Kareem and the Warriors won four championships with Curry, Thompson, and Green.
But the third superstar option is not the best for the Lakers and LeBron and AD. The smarter move would be to upgrade the other three starters, which would push the current starters to the bench and improve the rotation.
How Do Lakers Keep LeBron and AD Happy?
The Lakers biggest concern if the Lakers decide not to trade the picks is what to say to LeBron James, whom they promised to do everything they could, including trading picks, to give him a chance to win a ring at 38?
Considering LeBron’s and Anthony’s recent comments, there’s no question that there appears to be a split between the Lakers’ front office and their two Klutch Sports superstars on the team’s prospects for this season.
Right now, the 15–21 Lakers are just 1 loss from the Play-In Tournament and just 4 losses from a guaranteed playoff spot and the news on Anthony Davis’ foot injury is promising with a possible mid to late January return.
The Lakers need to somehow get their record back up to .500 over the first half of January to still be in position to make the playoffs if the front office were to make a blockbuster trade before the February 9 trade deadline.
If they can do that, it’s hard to see the Lakers throwing away a season where 38-year old LeBron James is dominating and 29-year old Anthony Davis is playing like the league’s MVP and best player on the planet.
While the Lakers would like to keep their picks and use them in a mega trade package next summer for a third superstar, their smartest move would still be to trade the picks at the deadline to win this season.
How Does This Affect Lakers’ Superstar Legacy?
The Lakers have carefully cultivated an image as the franchise for whom superstars like Kobe and LeBron want to play and retire. Breaking promises to LeBron and tanking this season could severely damage that image.
That’s why the Los Angeles Lakers are more likely to give in to the pressure from LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Rich Paul of Klutch Sports and agree to trade the picks to give LeBron and AD a chance to win this season.
The alternative, which is holding onto the picks, could easily end up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis requesting a trade from the Lakers and the long-term alliance between the Lakers and Klutch Sports dissolving.
You have to believe that Rich Paul and Rob Pelinka have had some heated discussions about the recent news that the Lakers may decide to keep their two draft picks for a blockbuster trade for a third superstar next summer.
Frankly, it’s hard to believe the Lakers would risk their relationship with their superstars and throw away a chances of winning a championship despite how great James and Davis have played when they were healthy.
In the end, the Lakers are going to have to decide whether they still want the purple and gold to be where the league’s greatest stars want to play and retire. If so, they need to keep their two superstars James and Davis happy.
I still see the Lakers unwilling to dump LeBron and AD, which means there will be a trade before the deadline to improve the roster and give the team a chance to win it all this season. Just too big a risk to give up LeBron and AD the way they’re playing. Just need them to get and stay healthy for rest of season. That might be a hard call but it’s the right one imo.
There might also be a compromise where the Lakers trade Russ and 1 pick but keep the second pick. That could be the result of LeBron and AD wanting help but the front office wanting to keep at least one pick. Who knows. We’ll just have to wait and see but a lot will depend on how the Lakers play the next two weeka and how AD’s return looks.
I could see a small trade being made involving Bev & None…err…I mean Nunn but not including those picks
It would be a total disaster. Beal is a 25 mil player making Steph Curry money 47 mil. Yikes. LaVine is similar. And neither fills our greatest needs. It would doom us with no money to fill out a quality supporting roster. Big pass.
Russ pretty much showed that adding a third superstar makes it impossible to build out a deep, versatile, talented roster. Lakers need to focus on upgrading their other starters. That will have bigger impact than 3rd star.
Russ hasn’t been a superstar for a long fricken time. The boneheaded plays, total lack of decision making ability, and non-existent jumper makes him a mid-tier NBA player. Getting a real superstar would be another story. Lavine, Beal, and other dudes in that category – barely all-stars making superstar money, would be almost as bad.
I was hoping for something like that, too, but have come round to wondering who even wants them other than for salary dumping? Neither is playing very well. &18 mil combined is a decent player. They’re not worth a decent player without the picks. Maaaaaaybe Jae Crodwer but CP3 ain’t gonna be happy about it lol. Although that’s probably as overblown as Russ’s beef was.
Here’s the problem. There is nothing to be gained by another team trading their expiring contracts for our expiring contracts. That means the only trades Russ, Bev, Nunn, or Jones will traded would be to get out of multi-year contracts. Problem is Lakers don’t want to take back contracts as that reduces future cap space. That’s why no trades. Fools gold cap space and draft picks that will be traded by Lakers at some point, not ever used.
Oh. You mean all the reasons you’ve been dumping on for the last year and change? Filed under “Yeah dude I know”
Now I do think you’re not being imaginative about this summer and what can be done with that cap space but I agree it’s not going to be a traditional team-building exercise.
Why bother with these posts? Won’t be a trade no matter how many wishes upon a star you post here. Basically farting in the wind and following the smell.
The only shame this season is Rob probably won’t be fired for all this, they just extended him so it feels impossible that will happen. Frank took the fall last season, LeBron will waste a season, again, so is basically the fall guy now and that milk sop will show up to work for another season if not the rest of his deal. That’s the thing bumming me out more than anything. I honestly like watching this team compete as hard as they are, a lot better than the No-show Lakers last season. They’re about as likely to succeed most nights but I enjoy the effort and hustle.