Swanson: No major waves in draft for Lakers, Clippers, but big decisions loom

As far as appetizers go, for NBA fans in L.A. Thursday’s draft was hardly a heaping plateful of neighborhood nachos.

It was a few bites of hors d’oeuvres. An emotional evening with a distinctive French flavor offered up only a nibble of the main courses the Lakers and Clippers are preparing behind the scenes.

After 7-foot-4 phenom Victor Wembanyama was drafted No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs – the first of four Frenchmen – the Lakers selected a pair of 20-year-old Kobe Bryant fans: They picked Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino, a point guard, 17th before they moved up to acquire Pepperdine wing Maxwell Lewis with the 40th selection (via a trade with Indiana for cash and the 47th pick).

The Clippers got a guy named Kobe – and another named Jordan with the 30th and 48th picks: Missouri wing Kobe Brown and Miami guard Jordan Miller. A pair of 23-year-olds.

And that was it.

No flashy draft night wheeling. No franchise-altering dealing. Even the Clippers, who’d made a trade on eight consecutive draft nights, refrained this year, as if in an effort not to spoil their appetite.

The main course – which will be mostly to stay the course – is yet to come.

On the menu next Thursday: The last day for players or teams to opt out of contracts and for teams to make qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency.

Then, on June 30, teams can officially begin negotiating with free agents ahead of July 6, when they can officially sign them.

Don’t expect major changes from the Lakers, who went 18-8 after a trade deadline makeover and then reached the Western Conference finals. They’ve signaled wisely that they aren’t craving wholesale changes this offseason.

“I would say this resoundingly clear: Our intentions are to keep our core of young guys together,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said the day after his team was swept by the Denver Nuggets, who were on their way to a gentleman’s sweep of the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

Of course, LeBron James could retire, as he hinted an hour after the Lakers’ season-ending defeat. But c’mon.

Fans should want to see the Lakers prioritize re-signing Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura and be smart about offering a contract extension to D’Angelo Russell, who faded in the conference finals but contributed to the Lakers’ trip there.

But, yes, to explore trade options for Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba, for whom the Lakers have options for next season.

“We saw incredible growth and achievement …” Pelinka said last month. “We have a lot of great young players. We want to do our best to fit the puzzle together.”

The Clippers are telling us they don’t intend to totally dismantle their current puzzle, either.

And they shouldn’t, if only because it’s hard to imagine many better alternatives to running it back with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The two have been plagued by injuries and played just 142 games together since joining forces in L.A. four mostly disappointing seasons ago, but they are 96-46 in those contests.

George’s name has surfaced this week in rumors about possible trade discussions, but the Clippers almost certainly won’t get a fair return if they deal him – even if he is No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller’s personal G.O.A.T.

The same calculus would be true for Leonard, the all-world talent who hasn’t played more than 57 regular-season games as a Clipper and who was sidelined with a torn meniscus in his right knee two games into the their short playoff stay last season. Who on June 6 underwent a “very, very quick procedure,” “a quick little cleanup,” according to Lawrence Frank. The Clippers’ president of basketball operations also said, for what it’s worth, that Leonard will be 100% by the start of next season.

After the draft Thursday, Frank also told reporters the team’s roster will continue to orbit around their two stars: “What we are trying to do is how can we put together the best team around these guys and we look at the different things, what has worked, what hasn’t worked, the job that we have to do better, the job that we challenge our players to continue to do better.”

By, say, trading for someone like Boston’s Malcolm Brogdon, a reliable contributor on offense who could help alleviate Leonard and George’s playmaking burden. The team tried that this week, reportedly exploring a three-team deal with the Celtics and Washington Wizards and then reportedly backing out because of injury concerns with the combo guard.

The Clippers will be on the hunt for similar additions they think will pair well with Leonard and George – even if none emerged Thursday, when the NBA served up a nearly five-hour celebration of dreams come true as a precursor to what will be the main dish here in L.A.