Lakers weigh need vs value with 25th pick

Lakers weigh – With the 25th pick in Tuesday’s NBA draft, the Lakers are expected to target either a center who can threaten on lobs or an athletic defensive wing who can also hit three-pointers—while knowing that picking late could mean passing on the best player available.

On Tuesday night, the Lakers’ draft room will be split between two realities that don’t always cooperate: the urgency of filling key roster needs, and the risk of waiting too long in a first round where the best options can vanish.

They’ll make their move with the 25th pick in the first round of the NBA draft—exactly where being specific about fit starts to get harder. The Lakers are planning for a roster situation that could include as many as nine free agents this summer. but they’re also aware that selecting late can leave them with the remaining player rather than the standout.

What they want is clear. The Lakers likely will search for a center who can be a lob threat, or for an athletic wing who can play defense and knock down three-pointers. Those are traits that fit the way they’re trying to build around star Luka Doncic.

Mock drafts and NBA executives have floated a few names as potential targets: Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, Texas forward Dailyn Swain, and Duke wing Isaiah Evans. Each, in different ways, matches pieces the Lakers crave—but none is a guarantee to still be there when their pick arrives.

Swain (6-7) and Evans (6-6) are the kind of athletic wings the Lakers could use. But both might be chosen before the Lakers make their pick, leaving Los Angeles to pivot on draft night.

The path for Quaintance could be more complicated. and maybe that’s why he’s showing up as a possible slide target. The 6-9 center could slide to the Lakers because of health concerns. He played in only four games last season at Kentucky. after the team handled his knee cautiously following knee surgery after he tore an anterior cruciate ligament when he played at Arizona State.

Scouts still see him as mobile, athletic, and young enough to develop—he turns 19 next month. The expectation is that when he’s healthy. Quaintance can become the lob threat and defender that Doncic’s game calls for. But the question hanging over the pick is whether the rehab timeline will keep him from being ready for the upcoming season.

The Lakers have been doing the homework beyond the usual shortlist. They spent time in Spain looking at 20-year-old guard Sergio de Larrea. Yet many NBA scouts believe he’ll go later in the first round or even in the second.

They also drew attention from the workout with Purdue point guard Braden Smith. The impression was that the Lakers were impressed by the workout—but scouts see limits that could push his selection further down. Smith is on the smaller side at 6 feet, and he played four years in college. That combination has led scouts to believe his upside isn’t high enough to keep him off the second-round board.

Los Angeles doesn’t have a pick in Wednesday’s second round, which narrows the margin for error. If they miss their target in the first, they may have to chase the rest later through other routes.

Those other routes matter because the Lakers’ roster churn isn’t hypothetical. After being swept by a deep and athletic Oklahoma City team in the second round of the playoffs. Rob Pelinka—the president of basketball operations—spelled out what it takes to compete in the Western Conference. He pointed to the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. noting that the Spurs became the second-youngest team to reach the NBA Finals.

Pelinka looked at how Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell was drafted in the second round and then flourished in his second season, especially in the playoffs, where he averaged 15.1 points and 4.3 assists in 11 games.

“Depth is really important, athleticism and youth. We have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it,” Pelinka said last month during his exit interview with the media. “I think those are some of the key North Stars that we need to look at.”

He continued by describing the idea of adding pieces through the draft, free agency, and trades.

“The Lakers do have three tradable first-round picks — 2026, 2031 and 2033 — but the latter two can’t be moved until after the draft,” the team’s situation is set up in a way that keeps Tuesday’s pick from being just one step—it becomes a hinge.

That’s even more true with LeBron James involved. James is an unrestricted free agent and is looking for a deal from the Lakers. Austin Reaves, meanwhile, is expected to opt out of his $14.8-million deal so he can sign a contract with them for up to five years and about $241 million.

The Lakers still have to start with the draft. Their first-round selection on Tuesday won’t solve everything. But it may decide whether they land a player who matches what Doncic’s game needs now—or whether the timing of picking at 25 forces them to settle. and then scramble later to rebuild depth and athleticism through whatever comes next.

Lakers NBA draft 25th pick Luka Doncic Jayden Quaintance Dailyn Swain Isaiah Evans Braden Smith Sergio de Larrea Rob Pelinka LeBron James Austin Reaves