The Los Angeles Lakers are not a good basketball team right now, even if they came close to knocking off the No. 1 seeded Boston Celtics on Saturday night. The Lakers made a major move to bring in starting-caliber forward Rui Hachimura to the roster, and the Japanese-born player has solid size at 6’8” and 230 lbs to be an impact player for the team. But despite the addition, the Lakers hold a very poor 23-27 record in the Western Conference, a shocking stat considering they should be competing with the top teams, including the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Los Angeles Clippers, among others. Even with LeBron James on the roster, the Lakers will still struggle to make the playoffs, although they will not get far even if they do. Los Angeles cannot score against big teams, play slow offense, and have a turnover-prone style of play. Not to mention, James is 38 years old.
But LeBron’s age means the Lakers need to make moves to compete right now instead of waiting for this current roster to start clicking on both ends of the floor. With over a full season of evidence already, we have a very good indication of what to expect from the Purple and Gold. Specifically, Los Angeles will be lucky to make the postseason and will suffer a first-round exit if they get there based on what we have been seeing. There is no way they can compete with the Suns, Warriors, Bucks, Nets, and any other top team in the league.
How could Los Angeles possibly turn their entire season around? By placing their most valuable trade asset, Anthony Davis, on the trading block. But there is another major move they can make, and that is by focusing their attention on a key player who will be available in free agency this summer. Specifically, the Lakers can hijack the Golden State Warriors team by acquiring Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kuminga in two major strategies. The Lakers can give LeBron James an exciting starting lineup to work with and realistically win a championship during the 2023-24 season. Here is how the Lakers can employ two strategies to land four key Warriors stars over the next calendar year.
Wild Trade Scenario For The Lakers And Warriors
Trade Package: Anthony Davis For Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Two First-Round Picks
The Lakers can negotiate and go after one of the biggest deals in modern memory if they decide to trade 29-year-old Anthony Davis to a rival team in the Golden State Warriors. In doing so, the Lakers acquire 3 very valuable pieces to put around LeBron James. It is important that the Lakers can manage to pull off this blockbuster deal before the February trade deadline, and because he has proven to be injury-prone again this season (only 27 games played), the Lakers can cash in on the All-Star as soon as next week. Here is how this works.
First, the Golden State Warriors probably need to make changes because they hold a poor record in the Western Conference at 25-24. But the NBA Finals does not start now, and the Warriors have a ton to prove if they want to compete with the Suns, Bucks, Clippers, and Celtics later in the playoffs. Luckily for the Lakers, the answer to Golden State’s woes could be versatile superstar big man Anthony Davis. Davis is an incredibly talented offensive player who brings size on defense, replacing James Wiseman and Draymond Green on both ends of the court. Wiseman has yet to impress this season, and Green is getting older.
Andrew Wiggins, one of the best two-way wings in the NBA, is also a valuable asset. Losing Wiggins will hurt, but acquiring Anthony Davis to complete a lineup with Curry and Thompson would be very intriguing. Golden State cannot rest on its laurels, and Anthony Davis could create another superteam for the first time since Kevin Durant played his last season in Oakland.
Meanwhile, the Lakers easily accept this deal because they must win now since they are completely out of the Victor Wenbenyama sweepstakes, thanks to the fact that the New Orleans Pelicans will get the pick that could land the talented young Frenchman. Remember, the picks went New Orleans’ way when the Lakers brought in Anthony Davis in the first place. The Purple and Gold add a two-way wing in Wiggins to finally provide scoring firepower and defense, a big young man in Wiseman who can develop, and a close friend of LeBron James in Draymond Green. Lakers fans rejoice with this deal as the starting lineup starts looking more complete.
Obviously, the Lakers are going more versatile with this deal and will focus more on sharing the ball and moving it to improved shooters. With a new system in place that favors versatility and depth, Los Angeles can revolutionize its attack. The starting lineup for the Lakers then becomes Dennis Schroder, Lonnie Walker, Andrew Wiggins, LeBron James, and James Wiseman, with Hachimura and Patrick Beverley coming off the bench. But there’s more because the Lakers can improve their starting lineup even more with one more strategic move.
Sign Draymond Green In Free Agency During The 2023 Summer
There is no secret that Draymond Green has a player option following the end of the 2022-23 NBA season. There was a ton of debate as to who the Golden State Warriors were going to pay among Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Green. After the punching incident that sent Jordan Poole flying across the court, the answer became clear. Wiggins and Poole were extended, and Green has yet to receive any offer. It is clear that the 32-year-old is slowly getting past his best and isn’t worth the trouble anymore for the Warriors. Even Draymond himself feels that his time with the franchise where he helped deliver 4 NBA titles could be over soon. But Green could actually be a blessing for another team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers should absolutely consider signing Draymond Green in the summer of 2023 when he becomes available. Draymond will have to reject this $27,586,224 player option, possibly to sign a 2-year deal with the Lakers that could pay a minimum of $15 million per season, if not more. With Russell Westbrook finally off the books, there is plenty of cap space for the franchise to maneuver with. They got rid of Anthony Davis in the deal above and have 3 young players to focus on. Acquiring Green should be the next step.
For the Lakers, this move also makes a lot of sense. Draymond Green is a tremendous defender, passer, and competitor who is on the same page as LeBron James. They will make smart plays on the court, act as extensions of Darvin Ham, and bring championship experience. Draymond averages career numbers of 8.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 5.5 APG while shooting 44.5% from the field, 31.6% from three, and 71.2% from the line. Those are not spectacular numbers by any means, and he is a below-average shooter, but Draymond wins games. Especially when surrounded by other stars, Green focuses his efforts on playing defense, rebounding, and hustling for balls.
Green bolsters the Lakers’ defense, makes others around him better, and adds some toughness to a team devoid of it. Green is nowhere near as talented as Anthony Davis, but he adds more aggression and dedication to the game. Sometimes, that works out better when a team is looking to add missing pieces. A lineup with Beverley, Wiggins, LeBron, Green, and Wiseman would most likely be enough to help the Lakers grab a top-4 seed in the West and make a Finals run. No doubt, they would be much better off than they are right now.
Win An NBA Championship Thanks To Golden State’s Players
Strangely, there could be a situation where the Los Angeles Lakers lose Anthony Davis and still win the deal. Anthony Davis has been a solid contributor to the franchise over the past few years when he has been on the court. The Lakers have a top-5 player of all time in LeBron James, and must take advantage because they will not draft or trade for a player as great as him. With James, the Lakers must make everyone expendable for the right deal.
With no offers on the table for Russell Westbrook or anyone else for that matter, Anthony Davis must be sacrificed. Lakers fans want their 18th championship, especially since the Boston Celtics are gearing up for a run to win their own 18th championship this year. No question Lakers fans will also love what Andrew Wiggins will bring to the table. As surprisingly consistent as Lonnie Walker has been as the team’s starting shooting guard, he is not the shooter or all-around offensive player that last year’s Western Conference All-Star is.
Wiggins was an All-Star last year, posting 17.2 PPG 4.5 RPG. This season, Wiggins looks even better by averaging 17.5 PPG and 4.8 RPG on 47.0% shooting from the field. As one of the best two-way wings in the NBA, Wiggins’ deep-range shooting, athleticism, and defense would give the Lakers some much-needed help on the perimeter. With LeBron attacking defenses, Wiggins will also have the luxury of having open shots consistently.
The Purple and Gold will also help Jonathan Kuminga become the two-way stud he can become. As a bundle of talent, being surrounded by LeBron James and a no-nonsense head coach in Darvin Ham would do wonders for his career. It is not often a 6’8” athlete with a solid understanding of basketball comes around with the right attitude. At 20 years of age, the former No. 7 overall pick has a very high ceiling.
Meanwhile, James Wiseman has had a rough start to his career, but it would be foolish to right off a 21-year-old who was selected No. 2 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. Wiseman is only averaging 6.8 PPG and 3.6 RPG this season through 19 games, but he can reach a higher level if he has the right players and setting around him.
Draymond Green would be welcomed in Los Angeles because his defensive efforts and perceived on-court toughness will be a breath of fresh air following last season’s disastrous ending. Not to mention, Green and James can rekindle each other’s competitive fires in the best way possible. It seems the moment where Green called LeBron James an expletive during the NBA Finals is water under a moving bridge. Green is not welcome anymore in Golden State, and that means he could be useful for another franchise looking to win it all. A future Hall of Famer, no matter what anyone has to say, Green has had an excellent career, and he will feel that he has a few more years left in the tank.
Lakers fans are ready for a change, and even if they are grateful to Anthony Davis for helping them win a championship in 2020, seeing him walk away for a package of three elite contributors would immediately wash away feelings of nostalgia. Not to mention, replacing Anthony Davis with Draymond Green a year later brings an edge of toughness, defense, and passing that they did not have before. Green plays harder and bigger than he naturally is built, and he will be motivated to prove he can still be a winning player for a title-contending team. With two major strategies, Rob Pelinka and the Lakers brass can build a contender in La La Land again.
The NBA is a brutal league built on winning at all costs, and that is even more accentuated with the Lakers franchise. The Purple and Gold make no apologies for making big decisions that can be polarizing, and Anthony Davis is nowhere near the untouchable level of LeBron James, and as such, he should be traded for the sake of the team. Draymond Green is also known as “the enemy,” but sometimes it is better to keep your friends close but enemies closer. Knowing the Lakers fans for being no-nonsense with rings as the goal, they certainly won’t mind.
