NBA Rumors: The Los Angeles Lakers Will Only Trade Draft Picks For Deal That Returns Them To Contender Status

After last years chaotic campaign, many fans and analysts have been practically begging for the Lakers to move on from Russell Westbrook.

But to trade him now, L.A. would likely have to either take back a large salary or give up their own future picks in the deal.

According to NBA Insider Marc Stein, that’s not something they would be willing to do unless they knew it would make them contenders again.

Here’s the latest update on their thinking, according to Marc Stein.

The Lakers' undeniable preference throughout the latter stages of the offseason was to preserve their projected 2023 salary cap space for a significant signing next summer. Yet they have not ruled out a deal between now and the Feb. 9 trade deadline that involves taking on long-term salary and/or surrendering their much-discussed future first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2029 … but only if that trade is deemed to clearly return the fallen giants to contender status. Remember that in July, as previously reported here, L.A. was unwilling to trade Talen Horton-Tucker to Utah for Patrick Beverley, then changed that stance after LeBron James signed a two-year extension worth nearly $100 million on Aug. 18. Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka confirmed at a press conference earlier this week that the team has not completely closed the door on a significant in-season trade.

How Far Can The Lakers Get This Season?

With LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers certainly have the potential to be competitive. If those two manage to stay healthy all season, they are going to be a playoff team at the very least.

The question is, what can we expect from the other guys? If the Lakers want to improve as a team, they will definitely need more from Russ, who was inefficient and often times ineffective on the court last season — and he wasn’t the only one.

With very few other options, it’s going to be up to the players to do some self reflection and figure out how to best play together. If not, the Lakers could be looking at another disastrous season.