If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to secure some sort of upgrade on the trade market — and that doesn’t necessarily mean trading for someone such as Giannis Antetokounmpo — they will, in all likelihood, have to give up some sort of draft capital in order to seal the deal.
Right now, according to NBA rules, the only future first-round draft pick they can offer in a trade is either their 2031 or 2032 selection. Once the new league year begins this summer, they will be able to offer their 2031 and 2033 first-rounders, as well as the player they will take in the first round of the 2026 draft.
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For a while, the Lakers’ future first-round draft picks were seen as having plenty of value on the open market across the league because of the uncertainty about how much winning they would be able to do in the coming years. But the arrival of Luka Doncic, as well as the sale of a majority share of the franchise to Mark Walter, has changed that, per Dan Woike of The Athletic.
“According to league sources, that future Lakers pick, which could be in 2031 or 2032, is less valuable than it was viewed both before the Luka Dončić trade and since Mark Walter’s acquisition of the franchise,” Woike wrote. “The belief is that since Walter has proven to be an effective owner with the Los Angeles Dodgers, that he and whoever he entrusts the franchise to will, at minimum, keep it from the kind of freefall that would truly make that future first-round pick less of a lottery ticket.”
At the very least, it doesn’t appear as if Doncic will leave the Lakers the next time he can opt out of his contract, which will be in 2028. As a result, it seems as if, at an absolute minimum, they will be a play-in team, if not a playoff team, for the next several years.
Other than future first-round picks, Los Angeles lacks tradable assets, unless it decides to make Austin Reaves, who is arguably playing at a superstar level, available in trade discussions. Reaves is expected to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this coming summer, although many expect him to stay put.
Forward Rui Hachimura, who is playing well so far this season, could be seen as moderately valuable, but he’s in the final year of his contract. The team’s other expiring contracts — guard Gabe Vincent and big man Maxi Kleber — are marginal players who may not crack the rotations of many other teams.
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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: Lakers’ future first-round picks have become less valuable