The Los Angeles Lakers may have hinted that they prefer to reload instead of rebuilding for the next season in hopes of instantly getting back to being contenders.
The Lakers have are reportedly planning to trade their top-three protected 2016 lottery pick, even if LA gets the first overall pick, according to Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports 1.
"I've now been told by two separate sources, even if the Lakers get the No. 1 pick they're trading it," Cowherd said during The Herd. "They don't want to rebuild anymore. They want to get a star NBA player. They will call teams if they get the No. 1 pick and shop it around the league. "
Trading for a proven star than investing on a raw talent to fully blossom does not seem the path the Lakers know of.
In the past two seasons, the Lakers tried to rebuild using two first round draft picks in Julius Randle (No. 7 pick in 2014) and D'Angelo Russell (No. 2 pick in 2015). Add in Jordan Clarkson, who is arguably a steal for a No. 46 pick, as well as last year's draftee Larry Nance Jr., who has shown great potential to be flourish in the NBA.
While the aforementioned youngsters have shown promising performances in the last two seasons, the Lakers failed miserably to win games while developing their young talents. There is no denying the potential around the young guys, but LA cannot afford to wait for either one of them to blossom into a star and take the franchise back to its glorious days.
Another interesting note is the Lakers trend in the last decade of winning championships thru trading or signing (via free agency) superstars. The team's three-peat championships from 2000-2002 were results of acquiring Shaquille O'Neal in free agency, while the Lakers last two titles were courtesy of trading for Pau Gasol in 2008. Kobe Bryant was considered a talent nurtured in Tinsel Town, but it took more than a decade before the Black Mamba became a superstar the Lakers needed.
Aside from these names, no youngsters have ever made an instant impact to the Lakers in the past 10 years, which brings back to the point that LA should trade for a veteran star rather than bank on this year's draft selection may it be LSU's Ben Simmons or Duke's Brandon Ingram.
"If you get a top-three pick ... not only does it get you the ability to take a player that is considered top-three in the world, you have the ability to move the pick," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said during his assessment of the Lakers' future plans, reports Basketball Insiders. "I think there are some quality players that can be starters or All-Stars in this league, [and] that goes beyond two players."
However, there is also a chance the Lakers could end up keeping their pick, but still getting to sign one or two max contract players in the summer market. The Lakers are projected for a maximum salary cap space of $62.6 million, enough to lure top free agents like Kevin Durant or DeMar DeRozan to play for the Purple and Gold.
In a sense, keeping the pick could also help them lure free agents, especially if they get to select Simmons or Ingram in the 2016 NBA draft. But that is still a case of whether the Lakers get lucky with the ping pong balls later this month.
The Lakers may have signaled their serious intentions to finally be relevant in the NBA map again after hiring Luke Walton as the team's next head coach. Walton is expected to play as a recruiter in this year's free agency, but if the former Lakers fail to do so, trading their potential top pick for a superstar seems a likely option for the 16-time NBA champs.