After falling short in the Western Conference Finals the Los Angeles Lakers rumors this summer are already running rampant. This is a team that might be a few key additions away from not only making it to the NBA Finals but winning championship No. 18.
One of the key assets that the Lake Show has this offseason is the 17th overall pick. The team got its own pick back from the New Orleans Pelicans after finishing with a better record and there are multiple directions to take. Initially, it seemed like the Lakers would look to trade down from the 17th pick and add multiple picks later in the first round.
However, Los Angeles could take a different approach with the 17th pick. Jovan Buha of The Athletic broke down the possibility of LA trading the 17th pick in the draft and while he mentioned the possibility of trading back, he brought up another avenue that should worry Lakers fans.
"“Another path is taking that 17th pick, guaranteeing Mo Bamba’s contract, exercising the team option on Malik Beasley, combining that, that’s about $26 million, actually a little closer to $27 million. And you have some flexibility there with the salary you can bring in. Those two guys most likely aren’t a big part of their future anyway, so I think those are kind of the two things they’re looking at.”"
Lakers rumors: LA trading the 17th pick with Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba would be a disaster
Granted, not all things are equal and if the Lakers could get a disgruntled star that actually made a difference with the 17th pick then that would be one thing. But after watching Bradley Beal get traded to the Phoenix Suns, that probably is not happening.
Instead, the Lakers would probably be looking at a marginal upgrade at best if they were to trade the 17th pick. The type of players that would likely be available at this cost would be in the realm of Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, or Kristaps Porzingis. Are those types of players really worth giving up a first-round pick? Probably not.
Plus, the Lakers should be looking at their own mistakes in the recent past as a reason not to make this kind of trade. After winning the NBA Title in 2020, the Lakers traded Danny Green and the team’s first-round pick in 2020 for Dennis Schroder.
Taken with that selection was impact two-way rotation player, Jaden McDaniels. Do you know who would have been great in LA for last season’s playoff run? McDaniels. Plus, the Lakers also had legitimate ties to Desmond Bane leading into the draft (who ended up being picked later). Had LA kept the pick, Bane very well could have been the selection and could have been the team’s third star.
Then we can go down the rabbit hole of realizing that with Bane in LA, the team probably would have been less desperate to trade for Russell Westbrook and who knows what happens from there. It is not crazy to think that if LA just held onto the pick and took Bane that the team would have won another championship in 2021, 2022, or 2023.
That does not mean that the 17th pick is guaranteed to bring a title to LA but it is a stark reminder that sometimes it is just better to take the young asset rather than a marginal upgrade with a veteran.