Since the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to the Anthony Davis trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, there were some question marks as to whether they would retain enough cap space to sign another max free agent.
That was cleared up a bit when it was reported the Lakers are attempting to shed the salaries of their remaining players like Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and Jemerrio Jones to get themselves max cap space capability despite the dealing being completed on July 6 as opposed to July 30. Davis would also have to waive his $4 million trade kicker to help facilitate this.
If they are able to do that and sign another All-Star player like Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler or Kemba Walker, then the Lakers would need to essentially fill out their roster with players on minimum deals.
In order to help do that, it appears the Lakers are attempting to buy second round picks from teams ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Lakers are aggressively pursuing the purchase of second-round picks in Thursday's NBA Draft too, league sources tell ESPN. Those picks will offer two important things for LA: acquisition of inexpensive labor and ability to exceed the salary cap with those minimum contracts. https://t.co/19s9qn8Lbm
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 19, 2019
Second round picks have no cap hold, so they don’t impact the team’s cap space and ability to sign a third All-Star player. Additionally, they would have those players’ bird rights down the road, giving them the ability to get over the cap to re-sign them.
The Lakers scouting department and front office have been able to find gems in second round of the NBA Draft in the past, most notably Jordan Clarkson and Ivica Zubac.
They have not publicized the players they have been working out ahead of the draft but considering how the roster is shaping up to look, wing and guard players that have the ability to shoot the basketball will presumably be the type of players they target if they are able to acquire some picks.
