Lakers May Be Saving Picks for ‘Splashier’ Trade Targets

The Lakers may be saving their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks to try to land an All-Star caliber player — as opposed to a player such as Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic — in a trade, rival executives told Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

Potential targets may include Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal or Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine, Stein wrote.

As has been noted repeatedly, the 2027 and 2029 picks are the next first-rounders eligible to be traded by LA. Reports suggested that the Pacers wanted both in talks involving center Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, as well as Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook.

But those talks stalled a while back, and given that the Pacers are surprisingly competing for a playoff spot, it seems unlikely that they would still be interested in such a deal.

The Lakers are also said to be willing to move guards Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn — or actually, perhaps anyone not named LeBron James or Anthony Davis.

Over the weekend, James strongly hinted that he would like to see the Lakers make some moves, when speaking with Sam Amick of The Athletic.

“If you guys know, then you guys know,” James said after Amick asked if it makes sense for the Lakers to stay the course until the offseason. “You guys know. I don’t need to talk about it. You guys know.

“…Listen, you guys know. It’s not rocket science. Y’all know what the f–k should be happening. I don’t need to talk.”