At media day in September, Los Angeles Lakers general manager and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka spoke candidly about the organization's philosophy when it comes to parlaying their two tradable first-round picks (2027, 2029) to upgrade the present team around LeBron James, who had recently signed a two-year extension ahead of his 20th NBA season.

“Let me be abundantly clear: We have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game on our team, and he committed to us with a long-term contract,” Pelinka said. “So, of course, we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals that give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end. He committed to our organization – that’s gotta be a bilateral commitment.

“You have one shot to make a trade with multiple picks … So, if you make that trade…it has to be the right one … So we’re being very thoughtful around the decisions on when and how to use draft capital in a way that can improve our roster.”

As the season got underway, reports indicated that the Lakers planned to wait until Thanksgiving before reopening trade discussions (presumably featuring Russell Westbrook), thereby giving first-year head coach Darvin Ham time to work with the revamped roster and enough sample size to properly assess the squad.

After 11 games, it's painfully obvious that the Lakers are not a good basketball team. They sit at 2-9 — a 15-win pace. They have the league's worst offensive rating and three-point shooting. LeBron James is already dealing with multiple ailments, and Anthony Davis — playing through back pain — has seen his production dip since his impressive start. The supporting cast is not playoff-caliber. Their collective spirit, especially on defense, has noticeably waned as the losses pile up and the scrutiny intensifies. (Westbrook, shockingly, has become a lone bright spot.)

According to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, both the players and the front office know it's not working. However, they disagree on the best course of action to take. LeBron — who will turn 38 next month and literally could not care less about two distant draft picks — is part of a coalition of players who would like to see management make a move to upgrade the roster ASAP.

Pelinka and the front office, though, seem to believe the season is cooked anyway and would prefer to hold onto the picks until, at least, next summer, when the Lakers will have loads of cap space and a third first-rounder to trade.

Per Haynes:

“James … does not want to waste a season of his high-level playing days in hopes of incoming reinforcements for the 2023-24 campaign, sources say. Other core players on the roster would likewise prefer those picks to be used to elevate this year’s team.

…With the team’s trajectory trending south, sources indicate the front office is unlikely to attach those picks to a potential trade out of concern that such a transaction would not significantly change the course of the season.”

Haynes adds that the Lakers do not believe acquiring Myles Turner and Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers would make the Lakers title contenders, though they are eyeing Bradley Beal.

Interestingly, Haynes reports that Westbrook's trade value has seen an uptick due to his strong turn as Sixth Man. Los Angeles is reportedly not considering dealing Anthony Davis, at the moment. Obviously, everything can change.