5 Increasingly bold moves Lakers can make to cause chaos at 2024 NBA Draft
The Los Angeles Lakers will enter the 2024 NBA Draft with an opportunity to alter the trajectory of the organization. Some have surmised that the Lakers will trade their available selections, while others believe that selecting a player to develop is the ideal path to follow.
Regardless of which end of the conversation you find yourself on, the bottom line is that Los Angeles needs to strike gold.
Los Angeles has limited cap space and a core that's built around 39-year-old LeBron James and 31-year-old Anthony Davis. Few will deny the effectiveness of that duo, even in their 30s, but even more will agree that help is needed.
With the No. 17 selection in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft and the No. 55 overall pick waiting in the second round, help could be found one way or another.
The question is: What would happen if the Lakers were to explore their options? How crazy of an idea would it be to swing for the fences—and what kind of repercussions would trickle down from such a decision?
These five scenarios could help provide clarity as the Lakers explore a series of bold moves from intriguing to downright chaotic.
1. Trade first-round draft pick for a starting-caliber player
The opportunity to package draft picks for a star-caliber player is one that the Lakers are likely to consider. The outcome that seems more probable to transpire, however, is Los Angeles trading one first-round draft pick for a starting-caliber player.
It would limit the loss of assets and prioritize immediate improvement, albeit while sacrificing an opportunity to land a promising talent on a rookie-scale deal.
The Lakers are the epitome of championship or bust, but it's important to not lose sight of the fact that the team isn't quite as far from elite as some have perhaps made it seem. Los Angeles reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022-23 and fell just three wins shy of 50 in 2023-24.
As such, a trade for a starter who can raise the ceiling of the current Lakers squad would be relatively easy to justify at the right cost.
Perhaps the Lakers would look to address their ranking of No. 24 in three-point field goals made with this hypothetical trade. It's also possible that they would hone in on the dead-last finish in second-chance points that occurred despite Davis ranking No. 1 individually.
Regardless of what the priority would be, it would cause a mild form of chaos compared to some of the alternative options that may be explored.