The Los Angeles Lakers made mmade draft night a lot more interesting. The Lakers reportedly moved up one spot in the 2026 NBA Draft, and the payoff was Cameron Carr.
NBA insider Brett Siegel reported on X that the Lakers acquired the No. 24 pick from the New York Knicks and used it to select Carr, the Baylor guard who was still on the board late in the first round. Siegel had posted minutes earlier that he was “a little surprised” Carr had not been taken and wrote that “someone is going to get a steal late in this draft with him.”
After the pick, Siegel added: “The Lakers have moved up one spot to #24 overall and are taking Cameron Carr. What a steal for the Lakers.”
The reaction was not limited to Siegel. Law Murray of The Athletic posted that he would “RUN, not walk” to take Carr, especially for “a team as bereft of athleticism as the Los Angeles Lakers.”
That is the part that makes this more than a one-pick trade. The Lakers entered the night with the No. 25 pick, but the Knicks sat directly ahead of them at No. 24. Moving up one slot protected Los Angeles from losing Carr to another team in the late first round.
Cameron Carr Gives the Lakers Athleticism and Scoring Upside
Carr’s college production makes the pick easy to understand.
The 6-foot-5 Baylor guard averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists during the 2025-26 season, according to ESPN. He also shot 49.4% from the field. He shot 37.4% from 3-point range and 80.1% from the free-throw line for the season, giving the Lakers a prospect with real scoring efficiency rather than just theoretical tools.
NBA.com’s draft profile noted that Carr ranked fourth in the Big 12 in scoring at 18.9 points per game and finished in the conference’s top 10 in field-goal percentage, 3-pointers per game and blocked shots. NBA.com also credited him with leading Baylor in blocks with 45.
Why Carr Fits the Lakers’ Draft Needs
NBA.com’s Lakers draft profile framed Los Angeles’ offseason around two major needs: frontcourt help around Luka Dončić and perimeter shooting that can benefit from Dončić’s gravity. The same profile noted that the Lakers had only one pick, No. 25, before the reported trade and could use it on a young player or package it in a deal for a veteran.
Instead, the Lakers appear to have gotten aggressive one slot earlier.
Carr does not solve the Lakers’ center question, but he does address the broader athleticism issue Murray pointed out. He gives Los Angeles a wing-sized guard who can score, run the floor and potentially defend multiple backcourt spots. For a team that has to build around Dončić without becoming too slow or too dependent on older veterans, that matters.
That is why the “steal” reaction is useful here. Siegel’s first post established that Carr was viewed by at least one NBA reporter as a player sliding farther than expected. Murray’s post connected that slide directly to the Lakers’ roster needs. Together, the reaction helps explain why Los Angeles would spend assets to move up only one spot.
NBA World Reacts to Lakers Trading Knicks’ No. 24 Pick and Drafting Cameron Carr