The Los Angeles Lakers will likely make the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
However, far from indomitable, the Lakers have looked vulnerable throughout the season. It’s gotten so bad that JJ Redick, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis have openly admitted to having a low margin for error. There are myriad problems that contribute to that. Though Austin Reaves has had a few sensational performances, he’s not necessarily a reliable go-to scorer. Though Max Christie has performed admirably alongside Reaves, they could use an upgrade. They’re also thin in the middle, leading to them being vulnerable in the paint.
This has led to speculation that the Lakers will be buyers at the trade deadline, whether they add help at center or in the backcourt. However, they’re “not expected to join the hunt” for Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic or Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl, according to The Stein Line’s Marc Stein. The longtime NBA insider adds that Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler is “believed to be as close to unavailable as it gets…”
Of note, the Bulls “continue to seek a first-round pick” for Vucevic, with the asking price for Poeltl or Kessler likely to be even higher than that.
Lakers’ Paying For Draft Pick Mismanagement At Trade Deadline
This year, the Lakers don’t have control of their first-round pick due to the trade that brought them Davis.
That’s all fine and well, as L.A. took advantage of Davis’s fractured relationship with the New Orleans Pelicans, pulling him out of the place that he had called home since 2012. Though the former No. 1 pick has been notoriously injury-prone, his interior dominance alone made him an attractive trade target. Add to that his athleticism and evolving guard skills and it’s fair to say he was a bit ahead of his time as far as big men were concerned.
The Lakers likely weren’t thinking of the NBA shifting towards a more perimeter-oriented game when they acquired him. However, they were well aware he’s someone that James wanted to team up with.
A Lack Of Foresight
Los Angeles doesn’t control their first-round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft due to their decision to acquire D’Angelo Russell. At the time, they were anxious to move off of Russell Westbrook, who was unable to play his game. So, in a three-team trade, the Lakers shipped Westbrook, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson, a first-round pick to the Utah Jazz for Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Russell and Vanderbilt had good moments with L.A. but the Lakers still might not have made the right move. Russell had a tendency to tuck his tail, his off nights consistently coinciding with their important games. Vanderbilt has played just 31 games over the past two seasons.
Still, in a vacuum, the Lakers added players who helped move them forward.
Stepien Rule
The problem is that they happened to trade two first-round picks that prevented them from trading two others (2026, 2028) thanks to the Stepien Rule. Created in 1983, the Stepien Rule stipulates that a team can’t trade away consecutive first-round picks. As previously noted, the Lakers traded away their first-rounders in 2025 and 2027. Thus, they have to keep their first-rounders in 2026 and 2028. The next and only other first-round picks that they can trade are their 2029 and 2031 first-rounders.
This is the mismanagement that’s handicapped Los Angeles. If they had the foresight to trade their 2029 first-round pick in the Westbrook-Russell swap, they’d have much more flexibility. They wouldn’t have to sit on their hands hoping that teams lowered their asking price on valuable players. They wouldn’t have to be so hesitant about trading away a single first-round pick.
Vucevic might already be in Purple and Gold. Kessler and Poeltl would be more feasible options. When Davis said he felt more comfortable at power forward, the Lakers could have accommodated that request.
