The night before the 2023 NBA Draft was full of drama. A proposed three-team deal involving the Kristaps Porzingis fell apart just hours before a midnight ET deadline, only to be revived and ultimately completed. That resulted in Porzingis ending up with the Boston Celtics, Marcus Smart heading to the Memphis Grizzlies, and Tyus Jones heading to Washington. Around the same time, Milwaukee Bucks star Khris Middleton declined a lucrative player option and chose unrestricted free agency. While the dam has not yet broken with regard to trades on the day of the draft, the first domino fell when the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers reportedly agreed to a swap involving draft picks and cash.
The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring the 40th pick from the Indiana Pacers for No. 47 and cash, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the original details, with the Lakers moving from No. 47 to No. 40 with the Pacers acquiring a pile of cash for their trouble. It is always crucial to point out that “cash considerations” simply line the pockets of ownership, rather than actually providing on-court value, but Tony East of Locked On Pacers notes that Indiana will receive $4.35 million from Los Angeles. ESPN’s Bobby Marks relays that Los Angeles could send a maximum of $4.4 million under league rules, which makes sense given the reported price. Given that the haul was paid to move up only seven spots, it would be considered a fairly lofty sum.
As far as basketball is concerned, the Lakers now pair with the No. 40 pick with the No. 17 pick in the first round, and Los Angeles has a decent bit of flexibility as the offseason arrives. The Lakers undoubtedly want to retain Austin Reaves, but Los Angeles could pursue the route of salary cap space and, if they do, having two top-40 picks to add cheap young talent could be useful. On Indiana’s side, the seven-spot drop won’t change the world, and the Pacers have been very active in deals, including a transaction to swap draft capital with the Denver Nuggets just hours before this deal.
