3 reasons why the Lakers definitely won’t trade Russell Westbrook

3. The Lakers not having their first-round pick in 2023 will make the front office stingy with the future picks

Rob Pelinka and the front office have already been stingy with their future first-round picks that they have to trade despite having more future picks than are advertised. The fact that the team does not have its first-round pick in the same year where the biggest prospect since LeBron James is in the draft will be a firm reminder to Pelinka to keep his picks.

Los Angeles will still have a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft but it will be a swap with the New Orleans Pelicans, giving the Lakers the worse of the two picks. Every game the Lakers lose down the stretch to increase their no. 1 pick odds for the Pelicans will be a painful reminder for LA.

This is not the Lakers’ fault and the team shouldn’t regret trading this pick. They traded it for Anthony Davis and they won a championship in a run where Davis was the best player on the planet for six weeks. It is just unfortunate with how the window lined up with Wembanyama coming into the league.

It isn’t regret that is going to fuel the Lakers to be stingy with their future picks; it is fear. Missing out on Wembanyama will be a firm reminder that the team cannot sell its future, especially if it is not guaranteeing a championship like the AD trade essentially did.

3 former Lakers that LA could trade for during the season

The Los Angeles Lakers have reunited with former players in the recent past and they could look to do that again with these potential trade targets.

Hopefully, the team can put together at least a play-in run that way the Pelicans don’t get one of two generational prospects. That would be awful PR for LA