The Los Angeles Lakers are at it again. Less than 24 hours after sending cash considerations to the New York Knicks to move up and land Cameron Carr at No. 24, the Lakers have once again purchased a draft pick. Prior to the start of the second round on Wednesday evening, Los Angeles acquired the No. 56 pick from the Chicago Bulls.
Lakers Acquire No. 56 Draft Pick From Bulls
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Los Angeles sent cash considerations to Chicago in exchange for the 56th pick in the second round, which tips off tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Sources: The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring No. 56 from the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the NBA draft tonight at 8 pm ET on ESPN. Lakers sent cash to the Bulls to get a pick tonight.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2026
Two cash-for-pick deals in two nights. It is a straightforward message from new ownership: they are willing to spend, and they are not leaving draft night without the prospects they are eyeing.
The back-to-back trades tell you something about how the front office is approaching this summer. Sending out cash considerations is not a complicated business, but doing it twice in 24 hours indicates a genuine belief in this draft class.
The timing of this move is also interesting. Rather than waiting until the Bulls were on the clock to see if a certain prospect was still available, they bought the pick an hour before the second round started. This indicates they like a number of prospects available late in the second round and are confident at least one of them will be available. Late second-rounders are a gamble at the best of times, and the Lakers clearly believe this is a deep draft with players worth targeting late.
UPDATE: Well, it turns out the Lakers’ player wasn’t there. They ultimately ended up trading the No. 56 pick that they purchased to the Dallas Mavericks.
This is a draft class that evaluators have described as one of the most talented in years, particularly at the top of the board, but there are questions about the depth since many second-round players opted to return to college rather than stay in the draft.
Earlier today, the Lakers agreed to Austin Reaves’ four-year, $185 million maximum contract, the richest deal ever handed to an undrafted player in NBA history. They have quite a few pending roster decisions, including LeBron James’ free agency. The four-time NBA champion’s future is still up in the air; he’s set to become a free agent on June 30.
Other pending free agents include Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard, Jaxson Hayes, and Maxi Kleber as unrestricted free agents, while Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton hold player options.
The Lakers have many spots to fill and calls to make before free agency opens.
