Back in February, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James showed his support for Los Angles Rams general manager Les Snead after he wore a shirt that read “F— them picks” during his team’s Super Bowl victory parade.
LEGEND! My type of guy!! https://t.co/QaHTlBAbJn
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 17, 2022
In recent years, Snead has been known for trading draft picks in exchange for established NFL stars. That approach helped the Rams win last season’s Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Snead traded two first-round picks and one third-round pick for Matthew Stafford, two first-round picks and one fourth-round pick for Jalen Ramsey and one second-round pick and one third-round pick for Von Miller. Stafford, Ramsey and Miller were all key parts of the team’s run to the title last season.
The Lakers’ slow start to the season has led many to believe that James will eventually coax Lakers executive Rob Pelinka to make a move involving some of team’s future picks.
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It seems James’ son Bryce is in favor of that happening.
As many fans know, the Lakers have two very valuable assets in their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks.
When the elder James tweeted out his support for Snead, many believed that the 18-time All-Star was indirectly telling Pelinka to trade future first-round picks in order to improve the team. At the time of the tweet, the Lakers were struggling and below .500.
Of course, Los Angeles didn’t even make it to the postseason in the 2021-22 campaign, finishing with a disastrous 33-49 record.
The Lakers tried to get better over the offseason, but weren’t able to make any groundbreaking moves. The Lakers’ first-round selections in 2027 and 2029 seemed to be the main sticking point in negotiations with teams.
“The Lakers engaged in trade talks with the Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets, sources said, and the conversations often hit a similar snag,” wrote ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Several teams that the Lakers engaged with insisted on L.A. including both of their future first-rounders in a deal; the Lakers were determined to trade only one of the two unless the package would return a can’t-miss-talent such as Donovan Mitchell or Kyrie Irving.”
An unnamed NBA executive recently called those two picks the “most powerful thing as far as picks go” in the league right now. Therefore, it makes sense why Pelinka wouldn’t deal them for just anyone.
At this point, he might just be holding onto the picks and waiting to see if some star players become available. The Lakers are reportedly expected to wait 20 games into the current season before revisiting the trade market.
One can only wonder whether or not Pelinka will deal the two picks at that point if the Lakers are still struggling. They are currently 0-2 on the season after losing to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.
They are hoping to pick up their first win of the season on Sunday afternoon when they host the Portland Trail Blazers.
