The Los Angeles Lakers now have a first-round pick that the team can use to add a young prospect or as a trade asset 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 decided against it. Instead, the Pelicans are opting to take the Lakers’ selection in next year’s draft, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The team has until 11:59 PM ET on Saturday, June 1 to notify the league of its decision.
ESPN sources with @DraftExpress: The New Orleans Pelicans plan to delay the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round pick until 2025, paving the way for LA to go 17th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft. Pick terms were part of the Anthony Davis trade in 2019.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 31, 2024
The Lakers now have the No. 17 and No. 55 picks in the 2024 draft. New Orleans still has the No. 21 selection in the first round.
Delaying until next year is probably a 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 one of the top stars, the overall talent pool will be larger.
Yahoo Sports’ NBA draft analyst Krysten Peek has ranked Miami’s Kyshawn George as the 17th best player on her 2024 NBA Draft Big Board. In his freshman season with the Hurricanes, the 6-foot-1 guard averaged 7.6 points, three rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 41% on three-pointers.
In her last mock draft, Peek projected Duke center Kyle Filipowski to go with the No. 17 selection. But that was assuming the Pelicans would make the roster.
