When the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline last season, general manager Rob Pelinka pointed out that they would have access to three first-round picks to help improve the roster this summer.
After a first round playoff exit and a coaching change, it’s clear that the Lakers need to make improvements to get back to championship contention, and the time to do so is now with the draft and free agency upcoming.
As of Wednesday’s draft, the Lakers will have those three tradable first-round picks at their disposal, the 17th overall pick this year as well as their selections in 2029 and 2031.
While Pelinka is still hoping to use those to upgrade the roster, he spoke at head coach JJ Redick’s introductory press conference about the challenges the new CBA present and why a big trade may not be in the cards.
“Yeah, I think JJ hit it on the head when he said our goal is to build a team that competes for championships. Whether that’s in the short term or the long term, we always have to balance those two things,” Pelinka said. “I do think in this system, as I opened, some of the trades are more difficult, especially if you have a second apron team and a first apron team. There’s a chance we’ll be in the first apron. The trades are less prevalent than they used to be. So will we look for trades that help us become a better team? Absolutely. Are those trades, did they have the same probability that they did under the old system? No, it is a different system.
“So we’ve got to be mindful and thoughtful around that. And I do think, as I stated at the beginning, part of the road to a really, really good team, and you can look around the landscape of the league right now with many young teams doing really, really well, is going to be leaning hard into that player development piece. And of course, part of that is drafting the right way. We’ve had a great track record here of drafting good players and developing them. And we’re going to continue on that path as well. So that’s not a yes or a no. If the perfect trade comes along, we can use picks to make it and win a championship, yeah, we’ll do it. Is that trade going to be there? I don’t know. It’s harder in this system to find perfect trades.”
With LeBron James likely not making a decision on his future with the organization until after the draft and free agency, the pressure will be on Pelinka to put together a roster good enough to convince the 39-year-old to stay.
It’s no secret that James is only interested in competing for championships at this stage of his career and if he doesn’t feel the Lakers are in a position to do that, he can opt out and test free agency.
So even if trades may not be as easy in the new CBA, it will be up to Pelinka to figure something out, especially considering how loaded the Western Conference is.
Lakers interested in Jerami Grant, Collin Sexton and Jonas Valanciunas
It definitely seems like Pelinka and the Lakers are trying to improve though, recently being linked to quality players like Jerami Grant, Collin Sexton and Jonas Valanciunas.
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