The Los Angeles Lakers just traded a ton of draft capital to land Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz, per Shams Charania of ESPN. But now, they don’t have any draft capital to work with in trades. So, if it wasn’t already obvious, the Oklahoma City Thunder are even better suited to build around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander than the Lakers are with Luka Doncic.
The Thunder already had way more draft picks than the Lakers. But LA still had some flexibility. It had some draft capital to work with. A way to build around Doncic. Now, the Lakers have committed almost their entire draft-pick future to Kessler and this current Lakers core.
Meanwhile, the Thunder still have a million draft picks in case anything goes wrong around SGA.
Thunder have an SGA safety net that Lakers don't have for Luka Doncic
Anything can happen in the NBA. Just look at the San Antonio Spurs this year. They dethroned the Thunder in the Western Conference finals, stopping OKC short of a championship repeat.
The Thunder could bounce back this year. They could win it all again. But if they once again fall short and fail to get over the hump, then Sam Presti has plenty of draft capital to make moves.
He has a bunch of first-round picks and even more seconds. Those can be used to facilitate trades, reshape the roster, and keep pushing forward to give SGA the best possible chance at winning titles.
Then, you look at the Lakers. LA just traded its unprotected first-rounders in 2031 and 2033, as well as first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. That’s a lot to give up for Kessler.
Now, the Lakers will be very limited in what they can trade. Kessler is a great fit alongside Doncic and Austin Reaves. He’s exactly what the Lakers should want at the center position. But he came at a price.
What if the Lakers fail to get over the hump next year? What if they continue to struggle to get past the second round of the playoffs? How do they move forward?
They don’t have as clear an answer as the Thunder do for SGA. The Thunder have built up a massive draft cabinet, giving them plenty of flexibility to keep SGA in position to win titles.
They already had the advantage over Doncic and the Lakers, but after this Kessler trade, the advantage has turned into a canyon.
If things go wrong with this core in LA, Doncic is in trouble.
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