The Los Angeles Lakers once again find themselves in the heat of the playoff race at 17–13, currently occupying the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis have played well under first-year coach JJ Redick, but the team doesn't quite look like an NBA title contender compared to teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and defending champion Boston Celtics.
ESPN's Shams Charania reports that L.A. is willing to use its available draft capital to bolster the existing roster for the right player or players: those who can slide in to play alongside James and Davis, but also factor into the Lakers' future.
"When you think about LeBron James, Anthony Davis, how do we round out this team around both of those guys?" Charania said of the Lakers on a recent episode of First Take. "They're monitoring the sellers around the NBA: Portland, Washington, Toronto, maybe Chicago. And my sources in that Lakers front office tell me they're open to moving—they've got three first-round picks they can trade—they're open to moving that in a potential trade, but they want a player or players that they feel can get into this iteration of this team now with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but can also play for three, four, five more years under JJ Redick as the coach."
L.A. has a pair of first-round picks available to send in one deal: 2029 and '31. It can also move its 2030 first-rounder in a separate deal, ESPN's Bobby Marks outlined earlier this year. The Lakers can also include a slew of pick swaps to sweeten a potential trade package.
De'Aaron Fox, Zach LaVine and former Lakers forward Brandon Ingram are among the high-profile players in their prime that could fit the bill for the Lakers based on the profile Charania shared.
The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lakers Believed to Be Willing to Part With Three First-Round Draft Picks in Trades.