Los Angeles Lakers: Trades that open with a top-four pick
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers have been moving up the draft order as the losses have stacked up, which could open the door for new possible trades this offseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been out of the playoff run for quite some time now. After LeBron James’ injury and Lonzo Ball’s injury, the Lakers could never regain old form, fell out of the playoff picture and could not recover.
The last few weeks has been about limiting LeBron James’ workload for next season while also pulling off a low key tank, even if LeBron denies the losing efforts.
The motivation here is clear: the Los Angeles Lakers want to move up in the draft order. It does not matter what team you are, moving up in the order is hugely valuable for the future.
The Lakers could select a prospect in the draft, which is something we have discussed before, but most likely will use that higher pick to make a trade this offseason. With the possibility of an Anthony Davis trade appearing slim, this high pick might open the door for trades that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
Right now the Lakers have the 10th-worst record in the league with a 1-9 record in their last 10. That gives them a 13.9 percent chance at a top-four pick and a one percent chance at the first overall pick, per Tankathon.
The highest the Lakers could realistically go is the seventh-worst record, a spot they trail by just two games.
If the Lakers manage to move all the way up to seventh-worst the team would have a 32 percent chance of a top-four pick and a 7.5 percent chance at the first overall pick.
Either way, the odds of the first overall pick are slim. However, if the Lakers do land in the top-four, here are four trades that would become available.