NBA Rumors: Lakers Won’t Trade 2031 1st After Luka Deal; Center Market Not Appealing
Featured Columnist IVFebruary 3, 2025
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The Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA world by landing Luka Dončić in a trade that cost them Anthony Davis, which means they now have a hole in their frontcourt.
But they reportedly don’t plan on trading their 2031 first-round pick to fix it.
Fred Katz, Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Monday that there are not many available centers who “appeal” to the Lakers, who “have no plans to give their best remaining draft asset away for a patch-up role player.”
While Dončić will surely help the Lakers compete in the Western Conference this season, there also seems to be something of a focus on the future with the major trade.
The 25-year-old guard now figures to be the face of the franchise for the foreseeable future and gives the Purple and Gold someone to build around even after the 40-year-old LeBron James retires or heads elsewhere.
After all, James is signed through just the remainder of this season and has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign. This will be Dončić’s team sooner rather than later, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst even said there is a focus on the newly acquired star.
“Every year of LeBron’s career, 21-plus seasons, everything the teams have done when he’s on it has been about him,” Windhorst said on Get Up. “That is no longer the case. Everything the Lakers will do going forward will be about No. 77. They are now Luka Dončić’s team.”
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“Everything the Lakers will do going forward will be about number 77. They are now Luka Doncic’s team.”
If building a long-term contender around Dončić is the top priority in Los Angeles, trading away the one valuable draft pick it has for a big man who would just be a temporary solution doesn’t seem wise if the front office isn’t enamored by any of the available options.
Still, frontcourt defense figures to be an issue for the Lakers, especially in a Western Conference playoffs that could involve matchups against Chet Holmgren, Nikola Jokić, Alperen Şengün, Jaren Jackson Jr. or even Davis himself.
Given that reality, the front office might be more willing to trade that pick if there was a game-changing big man available who could elevate the ceiling to a realistic championship.
But that doesn’t seem to be the case, so there is understandable caution when it comes to sacrificing a valuable piece that will help the Lakers bolster their future rosters that will surround Dončić.
