Los Angeles Lakers: Trade targets that can be landed with 28th pick
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers very well could trade the 28th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Fresh off of an NBA Championship, the Los Angeles Lakers own the 28th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draf as they finished with the third-best regular-season record.
The Lakers have traded a lot of future draft capital in order to win this championship so it would not be surprising to see the team hold onto its first-round pick. However, if there is not a prospect that the Lakers really like that late in the board, the team very well could trade the pick as well.
Technically speaking, the Lakers cannot trade the pick as teams are not permitted to trade NBA Draft picks multiple years in a row. However, there is a very easy way around this that we see happen every single year in the NBA.
The Lakers simply have to agree to the trade in principle before the draft, draft the player that the other team wants with the 28th overall pick and then complete the trade post-draft. That is why we always see players taking photos in the wrong team’s hat on draft night.
It must kill Atlanta Hawks fans to see the photo of Luka Doncic wearing a Hawks hat on draft night.
The pick could be sent in a larger deal for someone such as Jrue Holiday, but that is not the focus of this article. Instead, let’s look at three realistic trade targets that the Los Angeles Lakers could acquire for the 28th overall pick — and not much more.