The Los Angeles Lakers are staring down a tough reality: their current roster needs help, but the tools to make meaningful upgrades just aren’t there.
The misses on Jalen Hood-Schifino and Dalton Knecht haven’t helped. Neither has emerged as a tradeable young asset, and the team’s draft capital has been gutted-first by the Russell Westbrook trade, and then by the all-in move to bring Luka Dončić to L.A. That leaves the Lakers with few, if any, immediate paths to improve the roster around their new superstar.
But there’s a wrinkle worth watching. According to a recent report from Kevin O’Connor, the Lakers are exploring a creative workaround-one that borrows a page from the Phoenix Suns’ playbook.
The idea? Flip a single unprotected future first-round pick for multiple, less valuable firsts spread across upcoming drafts.
It’s a move Phoenix pulled off last year, sending their unprotected 2031 pick to Utah in exchange for firsts in 2025, 2027, and 2029. None were top-tier selections-each was the least favorable of picks from Cleveland, Minnesota, and Utah-but the volume gave the Suns more options when it came time to make moves.
And that’s exactly what the Lakers need right now: flexibility. With Luka in the fold, L.A. is in win-now mode, but their lack of trade assets has them boxed in.
Rob Pelinka, the team’s president of basketball operations, has long emphasized “optionality” as a guiding principle. Right now, the Lakers don’t have much of it.
Pulling off a pick-splitting deal could give them some breathing room and open up trade pathways they simply don’t have access to at the moment.
The challenge? Finding a partner willing to play ball.
The list of teams with enough draft capital-and the willingness to part with it-is short. Very short.
But let’s take a look at the few franchises that could potentially make this kind of deal work.
Oklahoma City Thunder
This is the first call Pelinka should be making-and maybe the second and third, too. The Thunder are practically hoarding first-round picks, with eight coming their way over the next two years alone. That’s an absurd amount of draft capital, and it puts them in a unique position to make a deal like this.
The catch? Most of OKC’s picks are actually pretty valuable.
In 2026, they’ll have selections from both the Clippers and the Sixers. In 2027, they’ve got a pick swap with the Clippers and a potential pick from the Spurs.
That’s not exactly the kind of lower-value pick the Lakers would be targeting in a deal like this.
But there are a couple of intriguing options: Denver’s first-rounders in 2027 and 2029. With Nikola Jokić still anchoring the Nuggets, those picks project to land in the back half of the draft-exactly the kind of assets the Lakers might want in return for a distant unprotected first, say in 2032. Throw in one of OKC’s own picks in that range, and we might have the framework of a deal that gives the Lakers some much-needed flexibility.
Brooklyn Nets
After OKC, the options get murkier. The Nets have a decent stash of picks, but they’re also a team in flux.
Brooklyn isn’t contending, and their draft strategy has been... let’s call it unpredictable. That uncertainty makes them a bit of a wild card.
Still, they’ve got some assets that could be in play. Brooklyn owns three future Knicks picks in 2027, 2029, and 2031-all likely to fall late in the first round.
They also have Denver’s 2032 pick and the worst of Dallas, Houston, and Phoenix’s picks in 2029. None of those are premium selections, but they could be enough to entice the Lakers if packaged together.
And there’s more: if the Nets decide to move Michael Porter Jr. this season or in the summer, that could net them another first-rounder, adding to their war chest. While they don’t control their own 2027 pick, Brooklyn’s collection of late-first assets could make them a viable trade partner-especially if they’re looking to consolidate and simplify their draft outlook.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are a tougher fit, but not out of the question. San Antonio has a solid pick portfolio, including some potentially high-value selections like Atlanta’s in 2026 and 2027, the Clippers’ in 2029, and Sacramento’s in 2031. Those are probably too good to move in a deal like this.
But there are two picks that could make sense: Boston’s 2028 first, and the better of Dallas and Minnesota’s first in 2030. That second pick is a bit of a question mark-it depends on how those teams perform-but it’s the kind of mid-tier asset that could be in play. If the Spurs are confident in their trajectory, especially with Victor Wembanyama leading the charge, they might be willing to part with one of their own picks as well.
This wouldn’t be a blockbuster return, but if the Lakers are just looking to turn one unprotected pick into a couple of usable trade chips, San Antonio could be a logical partner.
Utah Jazz
Yes, negotiating with Danny Ainge is never easy. But Utah is the team that pulled off this exact kind of deal with Phoenix, and they’ve still got enough picks to do it again.
They own Cleveland’s 2028 first and the better of Cleveland and Minnesota’s in 2029. Those are solid assets-maybe a bit too good to give up in a pick-splitting deal-but they show that Utah has the kind of draft capital that could make something work.
The bigger issue here is motivation. Would Ainge be willing to move those picks for a single, more speculative unprotected first in 2032?
That’s a tough sell. But if the Jazz see value in pushing some of their draft equity further down the line while consolidating in the process, there’s at least a conversation to be had.
At the end of the day, the Lakers are in a bind-and they know it. The roster needs help now, but the cupboard is bare.
Turning one future unprotected pick into multiple tradeable assets might be their best shot at unlocking some midseason flexibility. But it’s a narrow road, and the list of potential partners is short.
Rob Pelinka has pulled off bold moves before. If he can thread this needle, it won’t just be a win for the front office-it could be the pivot point that shapes the rest of the Luka Dončić era in Los Angeles.