Lakers Rumors: L.A. Resisted Rockets’ 2027 Pick-Swap Proposal in John Wall Talks

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Not only did the Los Angeles Lakers not have any interest in including their 2027 first-round pick in a hypothetical Russell-Westbrook-for-John-Wall trade with the Houston Rockets, but they also reportedly wouldn’t even entertain a pick swap.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported on his The Lowe Post podcast (h/t Jacob Rude of Silver Screen & Roll) that Houston would have considered a pick swap. However, the Lakers didn’t reciprocate that interest.

Even prior to the deadline, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Purple and Gold did not want to trade this pick in the potential deal. Insider Marc Stein reported as much back in January.

A pick swap would have been a new twist, especially since it remains to be seen what each team’s respective roster would look like and where their picks would land in a future draft. Alas, Los Angeles didn’t even want to do that.

Rude suggested it was further proof Los Angeles’ front office sees the current team as unfixable and didn’t want to sacrifice any future assets as a temporary bandage.

To say the Westbrook acquisition hasn’t worked out as planned would be quite the understatement, as the nine-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer has been a poor fit at times alongside the ball-dominant LeBron James and is shooting just 29.9 percent from three-point range on the season.

He has found himself on the bench in critical moments, and the Lakers are just 27-31 and ninth in the Western Conference standings. That is far from the championship-or-bust expectations that were in place at the beginning of season.

Yet there was no guarantee that trading for Wall would have been an improvement. He hasn’t even played since April 2021, sat out the entire 2019-20 campaign and hasn’t appeared in more than 41 games in a season since 2016-17.

He’s a five-time All-Star, but durability is a major concern. There are also aspects of his game that are not that different from Westbrook, seeing as how he relies on his athleticism and is not a great shooter (32.3 percent from deep in his career).

Perhaps that uncertainty also played a role in Los Angeles turning down Houston even when it came to a pick swap.