NBA insider says Lakers seem determined not to trade their first-round picks

NBA insider Shams Charania says the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t likely to make a big move with first-round draft picks to save their season.

The Los Angeles Lakers are far from where they planned to be in 2022. They sit at 2-9 after 11 games. Russell Westbrook is apparently untradable. LeBron James is injured. Hope for the season is extremely low.

A lot of Lakers fans would like to see the team be aggressive. They want Buddy Heild and Myles Turner. They want something to make things okay.

Shams Charania threw a whole bunch of cold water on that idea this week when addressing LA’s plans for their current draft capital.

Shams Charania: Lakers are unlikely to trade first-round picks

“I’m told the organization will be prudent with their two first-round picks available that they have for the remainder of the decade in 2027 and 2029,” Charania said. “I don’t believe the Lakers are in a position right now to mortgage their future with those two available picks.”

It wouldn’t undoubtedly take some first-rounders to get impact players capable of turning the team into a true postseason threat. Instead, they look more likely to take a measured approach.

“Realizing that this team is probably not going to be a championship contender and might not even be a shoo-in for the playoffs the way that the season is going, they’re probably looking at marginal changes around the edges at best and that means trying to make deals without putting in first-round picks,” Charania said. “For Lakers fans who are clamoring for a Buddy Hield/Myles Turner move where you’re giving up two first-round picks or multiple seconds and firsts, where we see this Lakers team, it’s not prudent for them to do that.”

That means riding with the likes of James, Westbrook and Anthony Davis. Theoretically, those three should be able to form a formidable trio but they’ve been anything but so far.

Maybe the best plan for the LA is to accept that their recent moves have been a complete disaster. If they want to embrace the idea of a rebuild, holding onto their first-rounders instead of throwing more at a lineup that straight up doesn’t work is the smartest thing they could do.