Lakers Trade Rumors: LA Has 'High-Value' Draft Picks Teams Want in Potential Deals

Not all draft picks are created equal in the NBA. When it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers, the general belief is that they boast "high-value picks," according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha.

"People want the 2029 and 2031 picks just because of the uncertainty (around the Lakers' long-term future)," Buha said at the 31-minute mark in Monday's episode of his Buha's Block podcast.

The Lakers insider added that any pick swaps with Los Angeles across the next few years will be attractive for the same reason.

The value of L.A.'s draft capital hasn't really been in doubt since everybody can see what lies ahead eventually.

James turned 40 in December. Anthony Davis is 31. Even Austin Reaves, one of the Lakers' young stars, is 26. Sure, you could picture Max Christie or Dalton Knecht being long-term contributors for the team, but neither is likely to emerge as a major star.

Things could get pretty bleak pretty quickly without LeBron on the roster. Having a first-rounder from the Lakers or swap rights with them any time over the next five years may yield a high lottery pick. At worst, you could wind up with a pick in the middle of the first round that can be flipped in another trade.

At least for now, however, using D'Angelo Russell to acquire Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets complicates any pursuit of a marquee star for the Lakers.

Los Angeles can include all of the first-round picks it wants. General manager Rob Pelinka still needs to get the money to line up, and that's tougher now without Russell's $18.7 million salary.

Looking ahead to 2025-26, Davis and James each make more than $50 million. Rui Hachimura is the next highest-paid player at $18.3 million. Finney-Smith is the only other player earning more than $15 million.

While Pelinka can piece together enough deals to add up to a max player, that would mean sacrificing valuable roster depth and potentially adding draft sweeteners if a trading partner is taking on mostly salary filler.

Having picks that are prized around the NBA certainly helps the Lakers, but that's only part of the equation.