The Lakers will trade their first-round picks if the right deal comes along.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported as much in wake of LeBron James agreeing to a two-year extension with the franchise and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka confirmed it at Media Day.
"Let me abundantly clear: We have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game on our team," Pelinka said. "He committed to us with a long-term contract, a three-year contract. So of course we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals that give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end.
"He committed to our organization. That's got to be a bilateral commitment, and it's there."
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"You have one shot to make a trade with multiple picks," Pelinka continued. "So if you make that trade, it has to be the right one, you have one shot to do it, so we're being very thoughtful around the decisions on when and how to use draft capital in a way that will improve our roster.
"Again, as I started the question by saying, we are committed to doing everything we can to put the best team around LeBron as long as it's a smart trade because of the limitations caused by the Stepien rule and the implications of that."
Rob Pelinka addressee the rumors of Lakers trades and trading draft picks this offseason. He said he will make a trade, including draft picks, to improve the team if it’s the right deal. pic.twitter.com/f8cBmZSVRr
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) September 26, 2022
What draft picks do the Lakers have?
The Lakers are light on future draft picks due to the Anthony Davis trade, which included four first-rounders.
According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Lakers can trade their picks starting with 2027. They also control their 2028 and 2029 first-round picks, but they cannot trade all three of them in a deal.
Lakers future draft picks
- 2023: Pelicans have right to pick swap
- 2024: To Pelicans unless New Orleans defers to 2025
- 2025: To Pelicans if New Orleans defers 2024 pick
- 2026: Own
- 2027: Own
- 2028: Own
- 2029: Own
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in the offseason that the Lakers have shown a willingness to trade two first-round picks for the right player. They'd reportedly do it for Kyrie Irving but not Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, who the Lakers have had "some on and off again" talks with the Pacers over.
"By holding on to those picks, if something else arises at another point in the season, they kind of still have some ammunition to go out and do a big deal," Wojnarowski said.
The trade deadline will fall on Feb. 9 in the 2022-23 season. You can expect the Lakers to be in a lot of rumors between now and then.