LA Lakers Trade Rumors: Jeanie Buss unlikely to trade future assets to improve current roster

The LA Lakers are currently 20-24 and in 13th place in the Western Conference, however, they are only two games behind the sixth seed, which would guarantee them a spot in the postseason without needing a play-in tournament.

Despite their close proximity to the postseason, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss is apparently unwilling to move future assets, according to Heavy.com, who stated:

"According to a Western Conference executive who spoke with Heavy On Sports’ Sean Deveney under the condition of anonymity, the Lakers are unlikely to trade away their future in order to improve the current iteration of their roster – a move which Jeanie Buss supports."

The unknown executive stated:

"They have come this far without trading the two picks (in 2027 and 2029) away, and it is going to be very hard to move Westbrook without putting one of those picks into the deal. You’ve got a lot of the organization saying, ‘We should trade picks and win now,’ but some in the organization are saying, ‘Do not sell out the future.’ And Jeanie Buss is with the second group, and that is what matters most."

While the LA Lakers have played much better than their record indicates, they will likely need reinforcements if they want to truly contend for the title. They will get Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Lonnie Walker IV back from injury soon, which should improve the team, particularly on defense, however, another floor-spacing shooter remains a necessity.

Should Jeanie Buss and the LA Lakers trade their future assets?

With Anthony Davis and LeBron James both playing great this season and the Western Conference seemingly wide open, there is a case to be made that the LA Lakers should go all-in on the season. While the front office has seemingly been holding out hope that they can use their future assets to acquire a star, it is unclear if they will be able to do so.

On the contrary, the LA Lakers' two stars have shared the court in just 19 of their 44 games this season. This has become a theme as both have battled injuries over the past three seasons. They shared the court in just 22 games last season, preceded by 27 games in 2020-2021.

With the two stars lacking availability, it is difficult to sell the front office on moving future assets from when Davis and James may no longer be on the roster. Instead, they will likely look to evaluate the roster at full strength to see if they are close to title contention before making any deals that could impact the future.