Lakers: Insider Explains Unique Way LA Can Acquire Draft Picks
The Lakers have plenty of star power, but are a little short on draft picks. Acquiring Anthony Davis in 2019 cost the team three-first round picks, and acquiring Russell Westbrook cost them another first-rounder. At the moment, the Lakers don't have a single pick for the NBA Draft on June 23rd.
If the Lakers already had a deep roster, it wouldn't be a problem, but at the moment, LA have LeBron, Westbrook, AD, and a few cheap, young players with some upside. If there was a year to have a first-round pick, it's 2022. Scouts believe this is one of the deeper drafts as of late.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report highlighted a path for how the Lakers can get their hands on some picks to help round out the roster with promising rookies, and not rely on another wave of veteran minimum players.
"Like the rest of the league, the Lakers will work out players and attend scouting sessions to try to find talent (like the next Reaves or Alex Caruso). If the opportunity comes to buy a pick in the June 23 draft, the Lakers can offer up to $4.4 million in a trade before July."
Pincus also noted that the Lakers could expend even more cash to acquire picks if they choose.
"Teams can also agree to buy a pick in June but wait until July to execute the deal with a larger cash pool of $6.3 million. L.A. may not have the appetite to spend $10.7 million to buy two or more picks, but it has the means."
In the past, the Lakers scouting department has mined the back-half of the draft for some quality talent. Ivan Zubac, Kyle Kuzma, and the aforementioned Alex Caruso.
The juice is worth the squeeze for a Lakers team that needs an infusion of young talent.
