If every draft pick the Los Angeles Lakers owned at some point in the last few years were a person, we'd tell them to rent, not buy. General manager Rob Pelinka hasn't been shy about using draft capital in trades to acquire talent. Even though he selected Dalton Knecht and Bronny James this past summer, when given the chance, he's mostly used L.A.'s picks as trade fodder to acquire more established talent.
As a Lakers fan, it can be difficult to keep up with exactly which picks the Lakers still have, which ones have been traded away, and which ones have some odd conditions attached that won't allow their fate to be determined until sometime in the future.
Now that the NBA trade deadline is over, it's a great time to catch our breath and look ahead. Lakers fans are over the moon about the trade for Luka Doncic, and they have every right to be. Feelings are mixed about the way the Mark Williams deal fell apart, but that just gives Pelinka more ammunition to work with this summer.
Today we'll be looking at every draft pick the Lakers have the rights to from now until 2031, followed by an in memoriam segment for the picks that have been lost and the players they brought back.
Every upcoming Lakers draft pick
Year | Round | Swap/Protection |
|---|---|---|
2025 | 2 | No |
2026 | 1 | No |
2027 | 1 | Top-4 protected , otherwise goes to Utah |
2028 | 1 | No |
2030 | 1 | No |
2031 | 1 | No |
Considering how active the Lakers have been on the trade front, their pick situation is surprisingly robust. Pelinka has been able to get deals done mostly by attaching second-rounders to outgoing players, and he was lauded for only giving up one first in the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade.
L.A. only has one second-round pick this summer, but they have firsts in five of the next six years after that. If the team can sign Doncic to a long-term extension, these picks should end up nowhere near the lottery, but each year the draft teaches us that there are gems to be found later in the first round. Just this past year, Kel'el Ware, Jared McCain, Dalton Knecht, Tristan de Silva and Yves Missi were each chosen outside the lottery, and all have made a positive impact in their rookie seasons.
The Lakers' 2027 first-rounder is nearly assured of going to the Jazz because of the trade that brought Russell Westbrook to Tinseltown. The only way L.A. will keep it is if it lands in the top four, the likelihood of which seems unbelievably remote. For that to have any chance of happening, it would likely take LeBron James retiring and Doncic opting out of his contract and signing elsewhere. Even then, top four is a major stretch when the Lakers have historically had such good luck in free agency.
If somehow the Lakers do get a top-four pick, they'll send their 2027 second-round pick to the Jazz instead. If they don't, it goes to the Nets. Either way, it will be out of the Lakers' control.
One other note — had the Mark Williams trade not been rescinded, the Lakers would also be without their 2031 first-rounder, and Charlotte would have the right to swap firsts in 2030. Now that the deal has been called off, Lakers fans needn't worry about that.
Every pick the Lakers have traded away between now and 2031
Here's the fun part, because now we can see all of the moving and shaking that Pelinka has been doing these past few years. In addition to everything mentioned above, here's what happened to the rest of the Lakers' picks.
2025 first-rounder: This pick belongs to the New Orleans Pelicans as the final piece of the trade that brought Anthony Davis to Los Angeles in 2019.
2026 second-rounder: This pick was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with JaVale McGee in 2020 for Alfonzo McKinnie and Jordan Bell. Cleveland has since traded it to the Miami Heat, who then traded it again to the Toronto Raptors.
2027, 2030 and 2031 second-rounders: These picks were all part of the deal that sent D'Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.
2028 second-rounder: The Lakers sent this pick and cash considerations to the Orlando Magic in the 2022 draft day trade that allowed them to select Max Christie.
2029 first-rounder: This pick was part of the Luka Doncic trade with the Dallas Mavericks.
2029 second-rounder: This pick was sent to the Washington Wizards as part of the 2023 trade that brought Rui Hachimura to L.A. Washington also received swap rights with the 2028 second-rounder that went to Orlando, and will receive whichever pick is better between the Lakers and the Magic.