Pelicans defer Lakers pick, will receive final compensation from Anthony Davis trade in 2025 (2024)

The New Orleans Pelicans will have one pick headed into the June 26-27 NBA draft — the 21st selection.

The Pelicans will defer the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round pick they own the rights to until 2025, a league source told The Times-Picayune.

The Pelicans could have used the Lakers’ pick this year — it is the 17th selection — to draft a player or as part of a trade. Instead, the Pelicans will officially take over the Lakers’ first-round pick next year.

The Lakers’ unprotected 2025 first-round pick is the final compensation Los Angeles owes New Orleans from the Anthony Davis trade. In 2019, the Pelicans gave the Lakers Davis in exchange for three players (Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball) and three first-round picks.

The Pelicans used the No. 4 selection in 2019, which originally belonged to the Lakers, and traded back to get the Nos. 8, 17 and 35 selections. The Pelicans chose Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Didi Louzada at those slots. None of those players are on the Pelicans’ roster anymore. (Ironically, Hayes signed a two-year deal with the Lakers last summer.)

In 2022, the Pelicans used the No. 8 selection — another pick that originally belonged to the Lakers — to draft Dyson Daniels. The Australian guard/wing averaged 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals last season. Daniels has quickly established himself as an elite on-ball defender, but his offensive game remains a work in progress. The 21-year-old has shot 43.5% from the field and 31.2% from 3 in his two NBA seasons.

Of the three former Lakers the Pelicans acquired in the Davis trade, only Ingram remains in New Orleans. Ball spent two seasons with the Pelicans before he was sent to the Chicago Bulls in a sign-and-trade. A left knee injury has limited Ball to playing in 35 games over the past two seasons. The Pelicans traded Hart to acquire guard CJ McCollum in 2022. Ingram has developed into a star in New Orleans, but the Pelicans are expected to consider trading him this summer due to his fit next to Zion Williamson and the cost of paying his next contract.

The Pelicans and Lakers both made it to the playoffs this season but were quickly eliminated in the first round. The Pelicans got swept by the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers lost a five-game series to the No. 2-seeded Denver Nuggets.

LeBron James, who just completed his 21st NBA season, can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Even if he opts out of his deal, he is expected to remain with the Lakers. James will turn 40 in December.

The Lakers will have access to three first-round picks this summer (their selections in 2024, 2029 and 2031) if they decide to go big-game hunting. NBA insiders are watching the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers closely to see if the teams will be willing to part with any of the All-Star guards on their rosters. The Athletic reported that Hawks guard Trae Young is “one of many names” the Lakers will discuss internally. Dejounte Murray, whom Young shares a backcourt with in Atlanta, and Cavaliers guard Darius Garland are other names the Lakers will consider.

The Pelicans, who won 49 regular-season games last season, are expected to aggressively explore acquiring talent this summer as well. They control all of their own first-round picks. Additionally, they own the Lakers’ 2025 unprotected first and the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2027 unprotected first.

It is possible the Pelicans and Lakers are competing for some of the same players on the trade market this summer, which adds another layer of intrigue to the recent history of two teams that are closely intertwined.