NBA Rumors: Lakers Expected to Keep 2024 Draft Pick as Part of Anthony Davis Trade

The final piece of the Anthony Davis trade is an unprotected first-round draft pick that can be taken by the New Orleans Pelicans in either 2024 or 2025.

Per The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, the expectation from people around the NBA is the Pelicans will allow the Lakers to keep their first-round selection this year to take the 2025 pick.

The July 2019 trade saw the Lakers send three first-round draft picks with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart to the Pelicans for Davis.

Those picks were the No. 4 overall selection in 2019, a top-eight protected pick in 2021 that didn't convey and became unprotected in 2022, a pick swap in 2023 and an unprotected 2024 pick that the Pelicans could choose to defer to 2025.

It makes perfect sense for the Pelicans to wait to get the pick. While the Lakers might not make the playoffs this season, they have clinched a berth in the play-in tournament. Their current lottery odds are 97.6 percent for the No. 14 overall pick in 2024.

The talent in the 2024 draft class is generally considered to be underwhelming, at least if you're looking for star players. While it's still early, the 2025 class looks very promising with players like Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach, Ace Bailey and Hugo González among the top prospects.

When you combine the outlook for 2025 with the fact that the Lakers could easily take a step back, it's not hard to figure out why the Pelicans want to wait things out.

LeBron James would seem unlikely to leave Los Angeles, but he could at least entertain the idea if he turns down his $51.4 million option for next season. Even if he does return, he will turn 40 on Dec. 30. The 20-time All-Star has been fantastic this season, but the age-related decline will hit at some point unless he retires first.

Davis is amid his healthiest season with the Lakers having already played 74 games, but it wouldn't surprise anyone if he missed more than 20 games in 2024-25.