The Los Angeles Lakers now have a first-round pick that the team can use to add a young prospect or as a trade piece in an effort to add another star player.
The New Orleans Pelicans could have taken the Lakers’ first-round pick this year, No. 17 overall, as part of the 2019 Anthony Davis trade, but they opted not to. Instead, the Pelicans are opting to take the Lakers’ pick in next year’s draft. reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The team has until 11:59 p.m. ET on Saturday to officially notify the league of its decision. But ESPN reports that Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin has already informed Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka of the move.
ESPN sources with @DraftExpress: The New Orleans Pelicans plan to defer the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round pick until 2025, clearing the way for Los Angeles to select 17th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft. The pick conditions were part of the Anthony Davis trade in 2019.
—Adrián Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 31, 2024
The Lakers now have the 17th and 55th picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. New Orleans still has the 21st pick in the first round.
Postponing the decision until next year is probably the smart move for New Orleans. The 2025 draft class is expected to be much more talented, led by Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Rutgers’ Dylan Harper and French guard Nolan Traore. Regardless of whether the Pelicans are in a position to land a top star, the overall talent pool will be deeper.
Yahoo Sports NBA Draft analyst Krysten Peek ranks Miami’s Kyshawn George as the 17th-best player in her 2024 NBA Draft Big Board. In his first season with the Hurricanes, the 6-foot-8 guard inches he averaged 7.6 points, three rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and hit 41% on three-pointers.
In his latest mock draft, Peek projected Duke center Kyle Filipowski to go No. 17. But that assumed the Pelicans would make the pick. Now the Lakers have an additional piece in this year’s draft to pursue Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young, as rumored.
