In an effort to get a little more coin for the luxury tax that Dr. Buss will have to pay in 2010, Mitch Kupchak has delt the 29th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft to the New York Knicks. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers will get a second round pick in 2011 and $3 million in cash. The Lakers still have two picks in the second round, numbers 42 and 59 overall respectively.
With a thin talent pool in the draft and little to no room for any floor burn to be found for a rookie in the Laker rotation, this would appear to the best move in order to get more cash to offer to free agents to be Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza.
Now if only GM Mitch can find a taker for Sasha Vujacic to free up even more room to bring back Shannon Brown. Slowly but surely the pieces are being put back in place for another parade in Downtown L.A. next year.