According to multiple reports, the Los Angeles Lakers have been busily canvassing the NBA for any trade opportunities that will bring them closer to championship contention.
But they haven’t made a trade yet – reportedly because they feel the offers they have received thus far haven’t been impressive enough.
A possible sticking point has been the inclusion of the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks, which may be the most valuable trade assets they possess. The team doesn’t want to give them up unless they yield a package that would significantly improve it right away.
This reluctance may result in it waiting until this summer to make a move, as it reportedly wants to make a move that will keep it in contention for the next three years.
Via Lakers Daily:
“If the right deal emerges that will make them — in their eyes — a better team over the next like three years, that’s their priority,” Dave McMenamin said. “They want the team to get to the best level it can get while LeBron James is still on the roster. But if that means not making that deal in February and playing out the rest of this season with the group that they have and knowing that they feel like there’s gonna be a better deal in July in the offseason, they’ll do that.”
This type of stance may end up frustrating James, but at the end of the day, the Lakers need to do what will be in their best interest to field an elite team around him and Anthony Davis.
