The Los Angeles Lakers chose to stand pat at the trade deadline, making no moves despite fans and media experts expecting a move to improve their chances at contention this season. The team explored all options but wasn’t willing to pay the price teams were asking for their various targets such as Dejounte Murray.
Their failure to make a winter move was followed up by reports that the team is actively going to hunt for a star in the summer with a more robust collection of trade assets. Possible targets involve Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell, and Trae Young, but the Lakers will likely zone in on a Trae acquisition, as he is under a long-term contract as compared to Mitchell’s expiring deal next season.
The Lakers have previously been linked with Trae but haven’t had the assets to make a run at him this season. But with three tradeable picks in the summer and more expiring contracts, the Lakers could make a shock move for Trae.
Trade Details
Atlanta Hawks Receive: D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, 2025 First-Round Pick (LAL), 2029 First-Round Pick (LAL), 2031 First-Round Pick (LAL)
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Trae Young
This deal would set the Lakers up for a possible non-LeBron future while creating a dangerous duo with Anthony Davis. If LeBron stays beyond next season, the Lakers would once again be viewed as contenders with this big three.
The Hawks Add Assets And Pivot To A New Direction
The Hawks have tried to make it work with Trae Young as their No. 1 option and have a Conference Finals run to show for it. But they’ve been an average team the last two seasons, seemingly taking backward steps every season. The Hawks made an expensive mistake by acquiring Dejounte Murray and are without assets to rebuild the roster around Trae at the moment. Instead of taking lateral steps in building a roster around Young, the Hawks could recoup their lost assets by dealing him to the Lakers.
D’Angelo Russell would be on an expiring contract, so the Hawks could easily trade him on to a contending team for further assets. But his 17.5 points and 6.2 assists averages could lead to the Hawks keeping him without Trae on the roster. Rui Havhimura is averaging 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds this season and would be a versatile wing on a roster that’s had one-way wings like Saddiq Bey while struggling with injuries to the likes of DeAndre Hunter.
Jalen Hood-Schifino doesn’t have the value of a No. 17 pick, but their second-round selection Maxwell Lewis is a coveted young player with a lot of room to grow. Including both of them along with their three tradeable picks allows Atlanta to have valuable future assets as they try building around Dejounte or rebuild their roster.
Lakers Equip Themselves For A Future Without LeBron James
LeBron James’s tenure as a Laker is coming closer to its end. James can be a free agent this summer and his son is expected to be drafted into the NBA. LeBron could easily walk from LA to team up with his son for a retirement season, a worry that the Lakers have to keep in mind. They have Anthony Davis signed on till 2028, so the team will hope to continue in a winning direction until AD’s career winds down. Acquiring Trae for this uncertain future might be perfect.
Trae is 25 years old and averaging 27.1 points and 10.8 assists this season. His winning impact as a small guard has been questioned, but the best big man he’s been paired with has been Clint Capela. AD and Trae are a very complementary duo and could be a terror in the Western Conference. If LeBron stays on, the team would have to be a title contender.
The production of Russell is nearly doubled by Trae, but the Lakers will have to make shrewd free-agency moves to replace Hachimura. JHS and Lewis aren’t rotational players, so the Lakers could take a scary squad into next season if they acquire Trae. The cost will concern LA, as it’s a very aggressive all-in bet on a moody superstar like Trae along with the aging duo of LeBron and AD. But if it works, it might be one of the greatest deals in modern history.
The Lakers Return To The Three-Star Model
Since the beginning of the LeBron era on the Lakers, the team has tried having three superstars on the roster. Their pursuit of Anthony Davis in 2018-19 also saw them aggressively pursue Kawhi Leonard into free agency where he chose to sign with the Clippers. If he didn’t we could have seen a LeBron-AD-Kawhi trio on the Lakers, arguably the scariest trio in modern history. Their failed pursuit of Kawhi didn’t stop them from adding a third star in 2021 when they traded for Russell Westbrook.
The deal to acquire Westbrook will be remembered as one of the worst trades in league history, as Westbrook was objectively bad and the Lakers punted a season-and-a-half worth of competitiveness. They returned to being a good team after getting rid of Russ and acquiring depth around LeBron and AD. Their 2020 title run and success last year was with a two-star model, but it’s failed this year.
The Lakers are not going to compete for a title this year, but they can do it next year. Trae is a complementary star as a high-volume scorer and one of the best passers in the NBA. He’d unlock LeBron and AD, while the veteran duo would further unlock his game as elite weapons next to him. Trae can take the scoring burden away from the duo, as AD can focus on defending and James can play a similar role to what he did in the 2023 playoffs, where he can become a Swiss army knife on both ends of the floor.
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