LeBron James' draft plan for the Lakers will add even more pressure to next season

The offseason is here for the Los Angeles Lakers, and there is no time to waste. With Darvin Ham and his staff out, the search for a new head coach is on. As soon as the Lakers make headway on that front, they will quickly be shifting their attention to the draft and free agency.

As it pertains to the draft, there are a few directions management can choose to take. As a team that is firmly in win-now mode, it would certainly feel like a smart choice to package the pick and use it to acquire a win-now player to put next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, whether that is a third star or a high-level role player.

It certainly sounds like that is the method they plan to take, but there may be a caveat. According to Lakers Beat Writer Jovan Buha, LA is likely to be "aggressive" in shopping their 17th-overall first-round pick. However, some have wondered if this is where LeBron may plan to impose his influence on the organization's decision-making.

The possibility exists that James could urge the Lakers to trade this pick and use it to trade down or otherwise acquire his son, Bronny. LeBron has made it clear that it would be a dream for him to play with his son in the NBA, and perhaps this is how he makes it happen.

The Lakers may opt to trade their pick to acquire Bronny

Of course, this scenario would be the dream for anyone playing in the NBA. Being able to share the court with your son would have to be an incredible feeling, and we can not knock LeBron for desiring that outcome. However, we must acknowledge the very real ramifications of trading the 17th pick in order to create that reality.

Let's be honest about Bronny: He is not going to help the Lakers win basketball games. He might help sell more tickets, but that is about it. As a result, trading away a mid-first rounder to get him in the Purple and Gold would mean essentially getting nothing of real value to add to this roster for the upcoming season in the draft.

What that would do is add even more pressure onto the Lakers to succeed next season. If they void their opportunity to trade for a third star player and their chance at a talented youngster in the draft, that will mean their roster for next season will look that much more similar to what it looked like this past season.

All in all, this is just about the worst move LA could possibly make if they truly believe they have any kind of chance at a championship next season. It is decisions as small as this one that can be the difference between being back in the Western Conference Finals or being out in the first round.