17th place nomination 2023 NBA Draftselected by the Los Angeles Lakers…

That is correct! The Lakers finally have a 1st round draft pick they can actually keep!

It is the first such nomination in five years since the Mo Wagner scandal.

It’s the best pick in six years since Lonzo Ball’s scream.

It’s a pick for the future, it’s a pick for rebuilding, it’s the pick Lakers fans have been waiting for forever, and it’s the Lakers’ offseason centerpiece, with all but a few small things.

they should trade it.

Don’t brag about it, be flexible with it, or try to build around it.

just trade.

Trade Mo Bamba and Malik Beasley for a veteran point guard with scoring ability.

If you can get an All-Star player, sign D’Angelo Russell and trade him.

There are several ways to do this, but the obligation is still the same.

Swap picks because the Lakers are the team built to win right now.

Swap picks as this season could be the last chance to win a championship in years.

Players like Jett Howard, Derek Lively II and Nick Smith Jr. are unlikely to contribute to a title win, so trade picks.

It has been written several times in this area over the past few years that the Lakers of LeBron James and Anthony Davis need to disband.

Check it. I changed my mind. James is still aging and Davis is still frustrated, but the Lakers are coming off the season with a record that makes them believe they can seriously challenge the defending champion Denver Nuggets if they play a full season of the spring roster together. finished.

Let’s be honest, the Lakers were the second best team in the NBA last season. Even though they were swept by the Nuggets, they had a chance to win each game in the closing stages, and they weren’t going to lose like they did in Miami in the NBA Finals, showing a consistent performance that will carry over into October next year.

In fact, they should come back next season as the West’s second favorite, but what about Memphis’ collapse and Golden State’s apparent dissolution and Clippers’ vulnerability, and the Suns’ lack of a veteran role? So be a player who doesn’t even talk about a packed Phoenix and don’t play defense.

The Lakers will be able to play their final season with James and Davis, then opt out and go elsewhere, so there will be more motivation there.

The Lakers are expected to re-sign postseason heroes Austin Reeves and Rui Hachimura, who will contribute to the team’s work ethic and depth creation.

The Lakers could also bring back Russell if they miss a late-playoff struggle, or Dennis Schroder, who has been so hard at work in the support role.

Under newly empowered coach Durbin Hamm, they need it all to blossom for eight months. They are missing only one thing.

Hint: The piece will be available in New York on Thursday, but he can’t be a 19-year-old.

“We’re on the cusp of a potential NBA Finals, and you never know what’s going to happen at the NBA Finals,” general manager Rob Pelinka told reporters in a recent post-season interview. “So I think we have proof of the concept that this was a really good team. But again, we’re not going to rest on our laurels. We’re always looking to improve if there’s an opportunity to be better, even as an agent, but we have a core of great success, and it’s a good starting point.”

Pelinka, I understand. He made some great moves in rebuilding the team during the All-Star break, and he doesn’t want those efforts to go to waste.

If Pelinka signs a deal on draft day and signs players like DeMar DeRozan and Buddy Hield, he could turn his attention to Washington and draw attention.

It would be Chris Paul.

Isn’t it sweet? Did the point guard, once denied entry to Lakerland by the late Commissioner David Stern, finally break through the gates in the final moments of his career?

Paul was traded from the Suns to the Wizards, but he won’t play a minute there. The first option seems to be for the Wizards to trade him to the Clippers. There, he would fit right into his old club under a coach like Tyrone Lue, who knows how to handle him. The Lakers simply don’t have the peace or salary cap space and won’t be in that trade market.

But what if the Wizards and Clippers can’t make that deal? What if Paul got fired and could play somewhere for a veteran minimum of about $2 million?

He will definitely come to the Lakers. That’s where his sidekick James runs the show and where he ultimately has the best chance of winning the championship.

Yes, Paul is 38, but he always gets injured in the playoffs. But with the Lakers’ rich roster, he could manage the load and come into the postseason fresh. Even then, he’s a strong midrange threat who averaged 14 points and nine assists last season.

He’s annoying, but Russell Westbrook isn’t. He’s a politician, but it’s speculated that if he got here he’d only care about winning.

Whatever the Lakers do in the most important offseason since James’ acquisition, it all starts on Thursday when Lakers fans will want to hear the sweet words.

The Lakers have the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft…