Plans have backfired. And, lots of the superstars who forced their way there (Kobe and Anthony Davis) were acquired in trades where the Lakers had to give up talent that they drafted.

There's also only so much money for free agents. Drafting is a great way to get depth on the the cheap. 23-25 could be brutal for them, they could be pretty bad and the Pelicans pretty good and those swaps could keep feeding the Pelicans with depth while the Lakers will be bled dry

They'll also be completing with the Clippers in the future.

That said, they have LeBron and need to go for it.