With four wins in five games, including a Christmas Day victory over the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers are feeling good. L.A. is now 17-13 and in possession of the 6-seed in the Western Conference, and just a game back from the Denver Nuggets for the fifth spot. LeBron James has been stuffing the stat sheet since missing a couple of games with a sore foot, Anthony Davis has regained his MVP form, and Austin Reaves scored the winning bucket over the Warriors.
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Though the Lakers are playing well lately, there are few around the league who believe they have what it takes to make a deep playoff run this year, at least as currently constructed. LeBron is the oldest player in the league, and the Lakers are one of the oldest teams, meaning the window to meaningfully contend is closing.
Much like the Warriors team that they just beat, the Lakers are planning on going all-in to try and maximize the returns from the end of their aging superstar’s career. Golden State has already made a move to help Steph Curry by trading for Dennis Schroder last week, while the Lakers haven’t yet pulled the trigger on a deal to help LeBron.
ESPN’s Sham Charania appeared on First Take on Thursday to discuss what he’s been hearing about the Lakers’ plans:
"My sources in that Lakers front office tell me… they're open to moving that [3 first-round picks] in a potential trade but they want a player or players that they feel can get into this iteration of this team now."
Shams Charania on First Take.pic.twitter.com/xxqJ3u89CU
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 26, 2024
What moves are the Lakers looking to make?
There’s reason to wonder whether it’s smart for the Lakers to push all-in on a team that is good, but very flawed. Can they realistically contend for a title, even with LeBron and Davis? Mortgaging the future in exchange for an ill-conceived short-term pipe dream seems like the kind of move that could set a franchise back for years, and in other words, very Lakers-esque. After all, who can forget the infamous Russell Westbrook trade that broke up their 2020 championship core?
Charania said that though the Lakers are open to trading all of their three available first-round picks, they’re not interested in sacrificing their future for an all-out push this year.
“They want a player or players that they feel can get into this iteration of this team now with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but can also play for three, four, five more years under JJ Redick as the coach.”
That likely means that the Lakers aren’t looking for a rental, and they aren’t looking to add a player in his mid-30s, which would rule Jimmy Butler of the Heat out even if Pat Riley hadn’t come out on Thursday and said that the team would not be trading him.
Charania mentioned Portland, Washington, Toronto, and maybe Chicago as teams that the Lakers are monitoring as potential trade partners. If you count player options, here are some of the players on those teams that are under contract for this year and at least two more: Deni Avdija and Jerami Grant of the Blazers; Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, and Jonas Valanciunas of the Wizards; RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl of the Raptors; and Zach LaVine and Jalen Smith of the Bulls.
Of those, Kuzma, Valanciunas, Barrett, and LaVine stand out the most as players who could move the needle this year and still be contributors going forward. Elsewhere around the league, Cam Johnson of the Nets is another good fit to provide shooting and spacing around LeBron and AD that could be available.
What will it cost for the Purple and Gold to make a move?
The players mentioned have a wide range of salaries and value to their current teams. To make a trade work, the Lakers will need to not only send away some or all of these first-round picks, but they’ll also need to include a player or two to match salaries. D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, and Rui Hachimura are the three most likely candidates to be included in any deal.
Although the Lakers may be hot right now, GM Rob Pelinka would do well to not wait until the trade deadline to make a move. Even though they’re the 6-seed, they’re only two games ahead of the 11th-place Spurs.
A lot can change quickly, and if Pelinka decides that there’s a player out there who can make a difference, then the sooner he brings that player in, the sooner they can begin having an impact. We’ll see what he does in the coming weeks.
