The Los Angeles Lakers were on the receiving end of a bit of luck in the NBA Draft Lottery and ended up landing the No. 4 overall pick. However, the Lakers may not end up keeping the selection.
According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the Lakers are “active in trade talks” regarding the fourth overall pick and would be open to making a trade for an established veteran who can help them win games next season.
This hardly comes as a surprise, as a team led by LeBron James is always in win-now mode, especially when James is 34 years old.
Los Angeles signed James last summer, which was supposed to mark the beginning of a new dawn for the Lakers. Instead, what ensued was complete and utter disaster.
The Lakers went on to win just 37 games during the 2018-19 campaign, missing the playoffs for the sixth straight year. James missed a month between December and January with a groin injury, and LA's roster was ravaged by injuries as a whole.
Los Angeles was also unable to land any other stars to play alongside of James, whether that be through free agency last summer or via trade during the season. The Lakers tried to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans before the trade deadline, but were rebuffed.
The failure of Los Angeles to make the playoffs represented the first time that a LeBron-led team failed to qualify for the postseason since James's second year in the league back in 2005.
Now, the Lakers enter a pivotal offseason that could ultimately define James' tenure in Tinseltown.
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