Lakers

Lakers Notes: Draft, Free Agency, Russell Westbrook

June 13, 2022

The Lakers don’t have any draft picks, but GM Rob Pelinka said he would love to change that.

“It would be a goal for us to somehow get in the second round to get a young player that we can develop,” Pelinka said, via Jacob Rude of SB Nation. “We’ve had great success if you look at our draft history and the guys we’ve drafted and developed and we think we can do it again in 2022 if we can pull off a trade to get a pick.”

It seems highly unlikely that the Lakers will be able to land a pick any higher than the second round, given that they don’t have a lot of tradeable assets. But should they attempt to get into the first round, several teams are reportedly open to moving their picks. As we’ve relayed, the list includes the Kings (No. 4 overall), Trail Blazers (No. 7), Pelicans (No. 8) and Nuggets (Nos. 21 and 30).

Should the Lakers have to hold on to Russell Westbrook, they will only have the $6.4 million mid-level exception and minimum contracts with which to work, per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. That may not be enough for them to retain Malik Monk, Pincus wrote.
Alternate targets suggested by Pincus: Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II (Warriors), Joe Ingles (Trail Blazers), Bruce Brown Jr. (Nets), Damian Jones (Kings), Isaiah Hartenstein (Clippers), Thomas Bryant (Wizards), Taurean Prince (Timberwolves), Gorgui Dieng (Hawks), Lonnie Walker IV (Spurs), Gary Harris (Magic), Austin Rivers (Nuggets) or Aaron Holiday (Suns).
In case you missed it, the Rockets are reportedly still looking for draft assets in a potential swap of Westbrook and John Wall. That said, as we also relayed, the Lakers aren’t looking to force a Westbrook trade and are clearly not opposed to trying to make things work under new coach Darvin Ham.
For more out of LA, make sure to bookmark our Lakers page right here. Without a doubt, they will be one of this offseason’s most intriguing storylines.