The Los Angeles Lakers have successfully traded for the No. 45 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, sending the No. 55 pick and cash to the Chicago Bulls. This move continues the Lakers' trend of trading up in the draft, with a notable previous instance being the acquisition of the No. 35 pick in 2022. However, the transaction will result in the team being hard-capped at the second apron for the upcoming season, although they managed a similar situation last year without breaching this cap constraint.
The Los Angeles Lakers are moving up in the second round of the NBA Draft tonight, acquiring the No. 45 pick from the Chicago Bulls for No. 55 and cash, sources tell ESPN.- Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2025
The Lakers have a history of purchasing picks or trading up in the second round of the draft in recent years. The most notable recent example came in 2022 when they moved up to the No. 35 pick and drafted Max Christie.
A small byproduct of this deal is that, as a result of sending out cash in a trade, the Lakers are hard-capped at the second apron.
This is mainly a formality as the Lakers treated the second apron as a hard cap last year and did not cross over into it.
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