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Is this allowed?

Example: if the Lakers wanted Lonzo Ball but traded their #2 pick (&Deng) to Sacramento for their #5 pick. Could they also trade second round picks to Boston and Phoenix for promises not to take him 3rd or 4th?

I believe this sort of thing has been done before in expansion drafts in the late 80s. This is a different scenario obviously and many rules have changed since then also.
(Would it be allowed nowadays in an expansion draft either?)

If Boston or Phoenix reneged and selected Ball could the Lakers do anything about it?

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The expansion draft is different as it is allowed to trade compensation for the expansion team to not take one of your players. I look at it as the expansion team is basically trading the player that they would have selected for the compensation.

For the actual draft, no you can't trade for a promise. Each team in a trade must send out and take back at least one of the following:
- A player under contract
- A future draft pick
- Drafts rights to a NBA prospect
- Draft swap rights
- Cash (at least $75k *not sure if this has been raised with new CBA, not something I have focused on)

Teams could theoretically make a handshake deal but no way to enforce and believe that both teams would be punished by league office if it was discovered.

Expansion Draft is very different. Not that something like what was outlined above doesn't happen, but it doesn't happen through official channels.

But BdeRegt was correct that "something" has to be traded in a real trade later and that it would be a "wink, wink" sort of thing.

Not even sure how that would work, if someone was trying to skirt the rules. "LA has generously given a 2nd round pick to BOS. No explanation offered." Nah, don't see it.

If it's Phoenix at #4 then the answer is simple, just trade #5 + 2nds for #4. That's straight forward.

If you want to make sure Boston doesn't go there at #3 either then you have to move up to #3. Perhaps some 3 team rotation where Boston and Phoenix each just drop one spot. That could easily take more than the Lakers can afford to offer though.

DBoys wrote:Not even sure how that would work, if someone was trying to skirt the rules. "LA has generously given a 2nd round pick to BOS. No explanation offered." Nah, don't see it.

It might be something a little more covered like a second round pick in exchange for a top 55 protected 2nd.

It's not gonna happen, so I'm bailing from the what-if's.