The Los Angeles Lakers have not made a selection in the first round of the NBA Draft since 2018 when the team took Moritz Wagner. Since then, the Lakers’ first-round picks have either gone to the New Orleans Pelicans or have been traded in separate deals for established talent.
After seeing the success of a younger roster this past season, many fans are hoping that the Lakers don’t spin the 17th overall pick for one year of a veteran that might not even fit. Unless the pick was included in a blockbuster trade, most fans would likely be upset if the Lake Show did trade the pick.
That is unless the Lakers are looking to trade the 17th pick for more picks in the draft. Reports emerged earlier this week that the Lakers are looking at different scenarios to trade the 17th pick to a team with multiple picks later in the draft. Essentially, Los Angeles is looking to move down to pick up more draft capital.
But is it actually possible? Are there teams with multiple picks that are actually looking to move up? Thanks to recent reports, we can safely say that the answer to that question is yes. The Lakers now have a perfect trade partner for the 17th overall pick and it is a team that Lakers fans are familiar with: the Indiana Pacers.
The perfect Lakers-Pacers trade centered around the 17th pick:
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports dropped a lot of intel about the 2023 NBA Draft and other storylines throughout the league on Thursday and in his reporting, he mentioned that rival teams continue to mention Indiana’s interest in moving up by packaging the 26th, 29th and 32nd overall picks.
If these rumors are true then Rob Pelinka should already be on the phone with the team that he has had plenty of trade conversations with to try and make a deal happen. The 17th pick might not be as highly-coveted as a pick in the high teens but the Pacers probably won’t be able to move that high with the picks they have to offer.
This could be something that does not materialize until draft night, also. It is not absurd for Indiana to wait and see how the board falls on draft night. If there is someone who the team likes at 17 then pulling the trigger on this trade is a no-brainer for both sides.
The Lakers would benefit from getting an extra selection in the first round while also moving up 15 spots in the second round. Typically, selections in this range are very hit or miss but the Lake Show has a great track record of drafting and developing players late in the draft.
Just look at the 2017 NBA Draft. The team selected Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart with the 27th and 30th picks in the draft. Both players turned into legitimate rotation guys that any contending team wants in the playoffs.
Hitting all three picks might be a big ask but if there is any team in the league that could accomplish that it would be the Lakers.