The Indiana Pacers are trading the No. 40 pick in the 2023 NBA draft to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for the No. 47 pick and cash, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Lakers now have two picks in Thursday's draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn—Nos. 17 and 40. The Pacers have four selections—Nos. 7, 26, 47 and 55.
The trade comes after ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Thursday on First Take that the Lakers "are hunting around to do something with 17 either to move back and maybe get an additional pick or to trade it for a veteran."
The Athletic's Jovan Buha also reported Wednesday that the Lakers are "more likely than not" to trade the No. 17 pick.
The Purple and Gold aren't in a position where they need a surplus of draft picks this summer.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis still on the roster, L.A. is in win-now mode and must bring in a supporting cast this summer capable of assisting the star duo on a deep playoff run in 2023-24.
Two of the biggest names L.A. continues to be linked to dating back to last offseason are Indiana Pacers veterans Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. Brooklyn's Dorian Finney-Smith, and Royce O'Neal, Toronto's Gary Trent Jr. and Washington's Kristaps Porziņģis have also been linked to the Lakers this summer.
However, the Washington Wizards traded Porziņģis to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, and Trent picked up his $18.5 million player option with the Toronto Raptors for the 2023-24 season.
Aside from bringing in new talent, L.A.'s main priority this summer is to extend the contracts of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, who both excelled in their roles with the Purple and Gold during the 2022-23 campaign.
The Lakers finished the 2022-23 season seventh in the Western Conference with a 43-39 record before being swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.
They're hoping they can better compete for a title in 2023-24, but that's still going to be difficult with teams like the Nuggets and Phoenix Suns expected to control the Western Conference.
