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Rob Pelinka says the Los Angeles Lakers are ready to trade their first-round picks if they have an opportunity to strengthen the roster and provide support for LeBron James.
Four-time NBA MVP James signed a new contract with the Lakers worth a whopping $97.1million last month.
Los Angeles failed to make the playoffs last season and Darvin Ham has been charged with the task of turning their fortunes around, having replaced Frank Vogel as head coach.
Lakers general manager Pelinka says they are prepared to give up picks if it means they can add quality to the ranks.
He said during a media day: “One thing that needs to be made clear is, there was a lot of speculation, will the Lakers trade their picks? Will they not trade their picks?
“Let me be abundantly clear: we have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game on our team. He committed to us with a long-term contract, a three-year contract.
“So of course, we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals that give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end. He committed to our organisation. That’s got to be a bilateral commitment, and it’s there.”
There has been talk that Russell Westbrook could be traded ahead of the new season, although he this week declared that he is “all-in” with the Lakers.
Pelinka said Westbrook is “a great part of our team”, but gave no guarantees he will stay by stating: “If we have to continue to upgrade our roster throughout the season, we will.”
The Lakers on Monday confirmed the signings of guard Dwayne Bacon and forward Matt Ryan.
