The Los Angeles Lakers are having a surprising season, with the franchise looking extremely competitive under new coach JJ Redick despite major roster concerns. They added defense and shooting by acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, and the franchise is now the No. 4 seed in the West with a 20-14 record.
They can be legitimate contenders if they continue making aggressive win-now moves to fill out their rotation. The holes in the Lakers roster are clear, as they still need a backup big man and perimeter-oriented 3-and-D player to fit around playmakers like LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
They also have the salaries and draft picks needed to make the kind of movers that will strengthen their bench. If they were willing to, they could add three high-level role-players for peripheral roster pieces and a few draft assets in a deal with the Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets.
Trade Details
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Bruce Brown, Nick Richards, Ochai Agbaji
Toronto Raptors Receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, 2025 Second-Round Pick (LAL), 2025 Second-Round Pick (LAC)
Charlotte Hornets Receive: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jaxson Hayes, 2029 Lottery-Protected First-Round Pick (LAL)
Both the Raptors and Hornets intend on being tanking teams this season, with the 2025 NBA Draft being a potentially game-changing one for both franchises. This allows them to get worse while adding assets that could be useful in the future for them. The Lakers land a collection of role-players they can effortlessly work into their own roster to make a push for a title.
The Lakers Add 3 Impactful Role-Players
When we look at the recent history of the NBA, we see teams that went all-in on having multiple stars wound up flaming out during the season or early in the Playoffs. Depth is what makes modern NBA teams useful, as it allows them to withstand the 82-game season grind without seeing their stars get injured while also having enough versatile options to keep defenses guessing instead of playing through one player alone.
Bruce Brown is a proven championship-winner but hasn’t played this season with the Raptors. He will be a terrific multi-positional defender who could play various roles on offense as a screener, ball-handler, tertiary playmaker, and perimeter shooting option. His $23 million expiring contract will give the Lakers future flexibility as well, making this a solid move for Brown who likely won’t feature heavily for Toronto this season.
Ochai Agbaji has looked decent for the Raptors this season, averaging 11.2 points and 3.9 rebounds on 41.5% from three. He’s also capable of playing three different positions across the perimeter, even guarding power forwards on the Raptors. This is another versatile player that JJ Redick can use in a variety of ways, making his rotations more robust.
Finally, Nick Richards is averaging 9.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks for the Hornets. With the impending return of Mark Williams, the Hornets can move off Richards for high value in this deal. He’s a hard-nosed rebounder and shot-blocker who can play alongside Anthony Davis or as his backup when required.
Two second-rounders and one heavily-protected first-round pick for three players of this caliber could be great for the Lakers.
The Raptors Prep For The Future
The Toronto Raptors are 8-27 this season and among the worst teams in the East. Surprisingly, they’re not bad enough as they’re just the fifth-worst team in the NBA right now. The bottom three teams in the Draft lottery are guaranteed a pick within the top five, so Toronto will like to secure that much for themselves by being bad enough to maximize their lottery odds.
Brown hasn’t had any impact this season on the injury table, but Agbaji has greatly boosted his value as a perimeter option this season. They can turn him into Rui Hachimura, who’s averaging 12.1 points and 5.4 rebounds. He’s a winning player who’s just 26 years old, so the Raptors could easily find greater value with him on the court or in additional trades next season onwards.
Gabe Vincent will be a solid veteran guard option to have as a leader on the bench. His contract will expire in 2026, so the Raptors can easily take his cap hit next season or trade him along for additional assets when his contract is considered an expiring deal next season. He’s averaging 4.3 points this season.
They open up cap flexibility, get two short-term draft picks, and land a player like Hachimura who could be useful to them in more ways than one.
The Hornets Maximize Their Backup Center
The Hornets never expected Nick Richards to show as much as he has been able to this season, as he was expected to be the backup center to Mark Williams. However, Williams stays perenially injured and Richards has gotten a chance to grow. He still doesn’t look like the best option for a long-term starting center, so this trade allows the Hornets to maximize his value by landing a heavily protected first-round pick.
Jaxson Hayes has no value. He’s averaging 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds but hasn’t shown anything intriguing to any team for them to believe he can be more than a backup option. Jalen Hood-Schifino could be valuable but as of now has shown little progress on the Lakers, although the Hornets might be able to extract something from the 21-year-old guard.
This deal is nothing more than the Hornets maximizing Richards’ value after getting solid production from him this season. He could have a future as a backup, but the Lakers are offering more value to the Hornets than keeping Nick would bring.
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