Lakers News: Pundit Prognosticates Whether Or Not LA Will Keep 2023 First Rounder
Your Los Angeles Lakers' roster could start looking different in a shade under two weeks. LA has two picks in this year's draft: No. 17 in the first round and No. 47 in the second.
The team was completely revived midway through its previously flailing 2022-23 campaign after an influx of youth (and the subtraction of some past-their-prime, non-shooting point guards) helped free up stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Now, with most of the club's roster hitting free agency (restricted and unrestricted) this summer, team president Rob Pelinka faces questions about exactly how he will look to build out his personnel beyond James and AD next season.
Anonymous sources inform The Athletic's Jovan Buha that it's more likely than not Los Angeles will hold onto the first rounder this year, though the team may be amenable to include it in a trade if the pick can be selected to bring back a quality veteran starter. Buha floats the Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner, who as loyal readers know has long been a subject of Lakers trade scuttlebutt, to the point where even Turner has said (prior to his lucrative new extension) that he'd be happy to don the purple and gold.
This year's pick, provided Los Angeles holds onto it, would be its highest used selection in a draft since the No. 2 selection in 2017, which was used on the pride of Chino Hills, then-UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball.
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