What draft picks can Lakers use before the NBA trade deadline?
After trading multiple picks for Dorian Finney-Smith, here is a breakdown of the Lakers' draft picks available to include in a deal.
The Lakers have already made a deal well before the NBA Trade deadline, moving D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and multiple second round picks for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.
With the deadline happening on Feb. 6 and the Lakers reportedly still “not satisfied” with the current roster, this might not be the only trade vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka makes this season.
We know the players currently on the roster, but what draft assets can they use in a potential trade?
Before diving into the available picks, let’s breakdown the ones that are gone and the selections that can’t be traded due to the Stepien Rule, which states that a team cannot trade its first-round pick in back-to-back years.
To complete the deal with the Nets, the Lakers traded three second-round draft picks: a conditional pick in 2027 and unprotected picks in 2030 and 2031.
The team’s 2025 first rounder now belongs to the Atlanta Hawks. It was originally going to go to the Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis trade, but New Orleans traded it to Atlanta as part of the Dejounte Murray deal.
The Lakers outright own their 2026 first round selection, but can’t trade it due to the Stepien Rule since they will not have their 2025 pick. They traded their 2027 first round pick to the Jazz in the Westbrook trade that brought Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to Los Angeles.
The pick is top-4 protected and if it lands in that range, it becomes a 2027 second-round pick. This means the Lakers can’t trade their 2027 second round pick either.
And finally, the Lakers own their first round pick in 2028 but can’t trade it since their 2027 pick belongs to Utah.
With all of the moves and the Stepien Rule stipulations out of the way, here are the picks the Lakers can use to upgrade the roster this season.
Picks the Lakers can trade now
- 2029 1st round pick
- 2030 1st round pick
- 2031 1st round pick
- 2025 2nd round pick
- 2025 2nd round pick (from LAC)
What does this all mean?
Now, while the Lakers have three first round picks they can theoretically trade, they can only trade two.
Due to the Stepien Rule, if the Lakers trade the 2030 pick, they can’t use 2029 or 2031 in a deal. Therefore, if they go all-in on a trade, the assets they can use that have the most value would be the ‘29 and ‘31 first round picks.
Also, since they can’t trade any picks past 2031 and don’t currently own any second round picks in 2031, if they do trade a pick in a deal, it will have to be completely unprotected.
The Lakers have less than a month to determine if they can use these assets in a trade that can upgrade the roster enough to contend in the West.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
