The Los Angeles Lakers have had a disappointing off-season by many standards. Apart from hiring JJ Redick as a coach and drafting Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, they have stayed put. We predicted moves they could make to get themselves back into contention. Rob Pelinka has even backed out of trades at the last minute, and nothing else has happened. However, the Lakers will become contenders in September with this trade.
Lakers Will Become Contenders in September With This Trade
Trade Details
Lakers Acquire: Malcolm Brogdon, Jerami Grant, Robert Williams III, and Corey Kispert
Wizards Acquire: D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Christian Wood, Unprotected 2029 first-round pick, Pick swaps in 2028, 2025 second-round pick via LA Clippers
Trail Blazers Acquire: Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, Maxwell Lewis, Unprotected 2031 first-round pick, Pick swaps in 2026, 2027 second-round pick
Why Will the Trail Blazers Do This Trade?
The Trail Blazers will lose two veterans but get interesting assets in return. For one, they will get a starter to immediately replace Jerami Grant in Rui Hachimura. He is a cheaper and younger option for a team motivated to be bad. Cooper Flagg headlines a deep class of prospects in 2025. After drafting Donovan Clingan this year and Scoot Henderson last year, they will look to add a top prospect in this draft.
For that reason, they will prefer to lose Grant and get assets for the future. Rui at 26 is not yet in his prime. He has shown potential as a post defender in both series against the Denver Nuggets. Rui also scored 13.6 points per game at an efficient clip. He had shooting splits of .537/.422/.739 with an effective field goal percentage of .609. Vanderbilt is an excellent off-ball and on-ball defender. He is still just 25 and will be excellent off the bench as a 3-and-D wing.
Jalen Hood-Schifino joins an already clogged up backcourt, but he has value as a project. He was drafted last year, after all. He could be flipped in future deals for other assets. Maxwell Lewis also has value as a 22-year-old 6’7″ wing with a 7’0″ wingspan. Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes could easily be waived to create room on the roster. A pick swap for them in 2026 gives them insurance in the 2026 draft. Their team is young and on the up; LeBron James will be 42 in 2026 and could be out of the league. The unprotected pick in 2031 gives them the ability to add top prospects while they are competing with what they hope will be a strong roster.
Why Will the Wizards Do This Trade?
The Wizards are a team perennially in a rebuild. But with the current construction of their roster, the Wizards may be trying to be competitive this season. As we have seen with the lottery odds, finishing in a play-in position doesn’t rule them out from getting a top prospect in the lottery in next year’s draft.
Russell gives them a starting point guard to pair with Jordan Poole in the backcourt. Offensively, that backcourt will be able to shoot the basketball at an elite level. Gabe Vincent figures to be a 3-and-D guard off the bench. He is one year removed from a finals appearance with the Heat. He is a solid veteran. Christian Wood could easily be waived to create room. The Wizards will be getting a prized asset in the unprotected first-round pick in 2029. Also, that pick swap in 2028 could become more valuable if they are finally competitive and the Lakers are rebuilding.
Do the Lakers Become Contenders?
Defensive Improvements
First, the Lakers will get players that address all the issues of the roster. The y will be getting a big, bruising center which JJ Redick wants. Williams is still just 26 despite all the experience he has from all those deep playoff runs with the Celtics. Despite Anthony Davis playing the most regular season games of his Lakers career (76), he earned the nickname “Street Clothes” for a reason. Williams is AD’s cover; he’s also a great backup to bring off the bench. He’s an excellent defender, earning an All-Defensive second-team berth as recently as 2022.
Jerami Grant is a two-way forward who averaged 21.0 points per game last year on shooting splits of .451/.402/.817. Grant can’t be judged for the defensive rating he has had on rebuilding teams in Detroit and Portland. If we go back to his stints with the Thunder and the Nuggets, he had defensive ratings of 107.9 and 112.4, respectively. Adding a volume scorer gives the Lakers another offensive option they can go to when LeBron has to take nights off. Grant is a 3-and-D wing, which is incredibly useful in today’s league.
Adding Shooting
The addition of Malcolm Brogdon gives the Lakers a steady hand at the point guard position. Brogdon is a plug-and-play guy. He has shown that by winning both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year on different competitive teams. He is a career .391 shooter from three. The Lakers need all the three-point shooting they can get. Brogdon’s 6’5″, 229-pound frame makes him a strong defender. He has a great wingspan (6’10”), which allows him to defend against taller opponents effectively. Brogdon also has quick reflexes, which enable him to make quick moves and change directions easily. His size and agility make him a valuable asset for the Lakers’ defense.
Lastly, the Lakers add Corey Kispert, a 25-year-old wing who can space the floor and finish cuts. He will be perfect coming off the bench and maybe finishing specific games if required. The three-year veteran leaves the murky depths of the Wizards and gets a specific role on a title contender. Kispert is a career 38.8% 3-point shooter on 5.1 attempts per game. Last season, his effective field goal percentage was a career-best 60.2%. He converted 78.7% of his at-rim attempts and shot 52.5% from the floater range (3-10 feet). He is a shooter, and the Lakers desperately need shooting.
The Last Word
This deal moves the needle in so many ways for the Lakers, though it doesn’t give them their flashy third star per se. It makes them have a legit nine-man rotation if Knecht starts contributing immediately. So the Lakers become contenders in September with this trade.
The only thing stopping this trade from taking place immediately is Brogdon’s current restriction. He was recently traded to the Wizards, so two months have to pass before he can switch teams again.
We have just seen the Celtics win an NBA title with a core of eight players with elite 3-point shooting and defense. The Lakers would be replicating this. They will also be doubling down on their size approach. Adding Williams III and Grant gives them more size to go against contenders in the West like the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Mavericks. This deal sees them match up well against contenders in the East and West.
