Lakers Should Be Hesitant to Trade Draft Picks at 2025 Deadline Amid NBA Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers are open to trade any or all of their three No. 1 picks (2029, 30, 31) in return for a player or players who can play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis in this incarnation of the team and win now, but also benefit the squad three or four years down the line under head coach JJ Redick, Shams Charania reported on ESPN's First Take (h/t ClutchPoints).

Lakers fans impatient with their team and demanding an 18th NBA Championship while they still have James and Davis may look at the report as a positive, rejoicing at the idea of acquiring Cam Johnson, Zach LaVine, Bruce Brown, or even a longer shot like Jimmy Butler.

It is a very Los Angeles move, mortgaging the franchise's future by trading draft picks for star players rather than developing them.

It is something the team should resist.

Making a trade of that enormity comes with it heightened expectations that whoever the team acquires will slot right into the lineup, mesh well with the established stars and the younger talent, like Austin Reaves, and help fuel the team to to victory and a shiny Larry O'Brien Trophy.

That rarely happens. There are growing pains and chemistry issues to consider that can, and will, eventually rear their ugly head. Assuming that is the case, the team may get worse than the sixth seed it currently inhabits before it gets better. In a loaded Western Conference, the organization cannot afford that.

That they are already incrementally worse than Oklahoma City, the No. 1 seed and class of the conference, and a young, flashy Houston Rockets team only makes the prospects of mortgaging the future in hopes of a quick fix that much more absurd.

The Lakers do not need a third star to pair with James and Davis. They need complementary players and depth. They need help at center, someone who can slot in behind AD on the depth chart and play meaningful minutes when the big man needs a break, is dealing with an injury, or the team decides to shift him out to power forward for a more favorable match-up.

A player like Robert Williams III from the Trailblazers, who have too many centers as it is, would be a worthwhile pickup. Walker Kessler from the Jazz may cost the Lakers one of those first-rounders but it is better to give up that for a lower-priced young star in the making than to expend all of the team's assets on a player who is not guaranteed to make the squad measurable better right now.

The team is so top-heavy from a roster and financial perspective that trading picks to bring in a star who would be the third option at best most nights is not feasible but filling gaps with players who have experience and can contribute right away by knowing their place and playing complimentary ball with two of the best of this generation is what the team and organization need to stay afloat in the Western Conference.

Finding an affordable forward who is experienced and can play for James when he needs a night off for load management purposes would also be a wiser move.

Stay the course, get the minimal help needed, and remain in the playoff hunt rather than landing a big acquisition that may not fit schematically or personality-wise in the locker room and creating unnecessary drama in a city that feeds on it.