After plenty of speculation, the Los Angeles Lakers will indeed maintain the No. 17 selection in the 2024 NBA Draft.
The New Orleans Pelicans have made the decision to defer the Lakers’ first-round pick until 2025, meaning LeBron James & Co. will make the pick at No. 17, pending a trade, according to a report from ESPN.
The Pelicans’ decision to use or defer the pick a year was part of the Anthony Davis trade back in 2019 where the Pelicans sent the nine-time All-Star big man to Los Angeles in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, De’Andre Hunter, Brandon Ingram, cash, a 2022 first-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 first-round pick (with the right to refer to 2025).
The Pelicans, who have until 11:59 p.m. ET Saturday to inform the NBA of their official decision, let the Lakers know of their decision on Friday, according to the ESPN report.
New Orleans also owns the No. 21 overall pick in this year’s draft, which is set to take place June 26-27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Meanwhile, the Lakers currently own the No. 55 selection in the draft, in addition to pick No. 17.
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