The Los Angeles Lakers have not done much beyond this offseason besides re-signing their own two free agents—Max Christie and LeBron James—and inking their draft picks. The Lakers now have their 15-man roster filled, so they can only improve their team via trades. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report recently suggested five moves the Lakers could make. Would it be wise for them to do so?
7 Trades The Los Angeles Lakers Could Make Before The Regular Season
Los Angeles is currently above the NBA’s second apron at $188.9 million based on estimates of the value of Christie ($7.1 million) and James ($49.9 million) 2024-25 contracts. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that James is willing to take slightly less than the max to keep the Lakers below the $188.9 million second apron.
Even if the Lakers end up being below the punitive second apron, they are limited in what they can do.
“The Lakers can’t take back more salary in a trade than they send out without getting hard-capped at the $178.1 million first apron, and they’d be hard-capped at the second apron if they aggregate two or more contracts in a trade, Pincus said. “Competing executives are aware of those restrictions and are eager to take advantage of the Lakers if they come calling for a deal.”
Jerami Grant and Robert Williams, Portland Trail Blazers
The Lakers need to improve their frontcourt depth, and both players would definitely help. Jerami Grant would give the Lakers a third reliable scorer who doesn’t need the ball in his hands. He would be a huge upgrade over Rui Hachimura offensively but a slight downgrade defensively. Grant, a capable defender, also provides a little more versatility.
Williams is a wildcard here as he has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. But if he can stay healthy, Williams would be an upgrade for the Lakers at backup center, providing them with toughness, rebounding, and defense.
Portland would get D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, Jalen Hood Schifino, and Hachimura in the deal. The Trail Blazers have reportedly been checking Grant’s market value for a little bit. The Blazers would likely be more than willing to get rid of Williams, who has $25.6 million left on his deal.
Russell would give the Blazers a veteran backcourt presence to help tutor and fill the gap for another year before Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson officially take over the starting jobs. Russell and Wood are on expiring contracts, so they may be able to trade e one of them before the trade deadline for more assets.
Wood doesn’t appear to fit with the Blazers, who took Donovan Clingan with the No. 7 pick in the draft. Ayton is the starter at center, and Hachimura would take over the starting power forward spot. Toumani Camara, Jabari Walker, Kris Murray, and recently acquired Deni Avdija are also capable of playing the four.
Hurdles To The Deal
While the trade would theoretically work for both sides, a deal has some hurdles.
As Pincus said, James would have to take between $4-17 million less than the max for the Lakers to make the deal.
Second, would the Trail Blazers ask for some draft capital? The Lakers only have a 2029 and 2031 first-rounder to send out, but they do have two second-round picks this upcoming season.
Third, Portland has 15 players under contract, though Camara and Walker are on nonguaranteed deals. So, the Blazers would have to make decisionsTheyrs would likely keep Camara and waive Woood, but they would still have to make another move. If they chose to waive someone, it would likely come down to Walker or Rayan Rupert, who has a $1.8 million guarantee but is very much a developmental player.
According to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report, the Lakers and Blazers have discussed Grant’s availability. Highkin said that the Blazers would want both of the Lakers first-rounders (2029 and 2031), and the Lakers haven’t been willing to meet the asking price. Highkin added that the Blazers wouldn’t have much interest in any of the Lakers players besides Hachimura.
Anfernee Simons Available
A fourth concern, and for the Lakers, is who would replace Russell? Perhaps the Lakers would rather take Anfernee Simons instead. Simons would be a little cheaper than Grant, although he is a defensive liability. He is also a fantastic 3-point shooter—averaging 3.1 treys in each of the last three seasons while shooting it from deep at a career 38% clip.
“Anfernee Simons’ status is worth keeping an eye on,” Highkin wrote in another post. “On draft night, Cronin said the Blazers are ‘committed’ to building around Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe and didn’t mention Simons’ name. Simons also appears open to a move—at his end-of-season exit interview in April, he said he wants ‘the opportunity to win,’ which is very plainly not where the Blazers are right now or will be in the next few years.”
Bottom Line of Trail Blazers and Lakers Trade
The Lakers should do a deal with the Trail Blazers in either of the above forms. Meanwhile, it would likely be a little harder for the Trail Blazers to stomach, only because they are only really interested in Hachimura. But if they can get the Lakers to trade both of their available first-round picks or at least one and perhaps both second-rounders this year, maybe they would be willing.
DeMar DeRozan Trade
DeMar DeRozan has said that he is not going back to Chicago. DeRozan is from Compton and almost joined the Lakers in 2021. He is not a 3-point threat but would be a better-than-average fit with James and Anthony Davis due to his playmaking ability. Plus, James and Davis are ideal to play with the 34-year-old because they would give him room to operate in the post and mid-range due to their perimeter capabilities. Plus, he is a terrific defender and could be a quasi-point guard due to his ball-handling ability.
The Lakers can’t sign DeRozan as a free agent, with James agreeing to a max deal. DeRozan also likely wouldn’t accept the mid-level exception, and other teams, namely Sacramento and Miami, are reportedly interested.
Proposed Trade Details
Pincus proposed a deal that would send DeRozan and Nikolas Vucevic to the Lakers in exchange for Russell, Hachimura, Hood-Schifino, and Wood in a sign-and-trade.
Chicago has 14 players under contract, with Onuralip Bitim having a nonguaranteed deal. The Bulls are under $18 million under the first tax apron, so they could do the trade and release either Bitim or Wood.
Hachimura would give the Bulls another young and athletic player they are pivoting towards. Russell would be the Bulls’ No. 2 scoring option. But he and Zach LaVine are not good fits, as neither plays a lick of defense. The Bulls would likely want some draft capital.
Bottom Line of DeRozan and Vucevic Trade
DeRozan and Vucevic going to the Lakers would be a game-changer. Adding Vucevic would allow Davis to play his preferred position, power forward, more often.
The big question is whether Chicago would do the trade. The Bulls would enhance their inevitable rebuild with the trade, so they may do the deal depending on what draft assets they could get out of it. A first-rounder or a pair of second-round selections may do the trick.
Different Trade
Here is an interesting idea: send LaVine to the Lakers for Hachimura, Russell, Hood-Schifino, and Wood.
The Bulls have been looking to deal with LaVine since the last seas, but there is reportedly no market for the 29-year-old. LaVine is a better overall player than Russell, but would it be worthwhile for them to part with Hachimura?
Chicago would probably jump on this trade and likely wouldn’t want any draft picks.
Lauri Markkanen Trade
There is a lot of buzz surrounding Lauri Markkanen’s availability. He is on an expiring $18 million contract, but plenty of teams are interested in the 27-year-old.
Here is what Pincus said:
The Utah Jazz don’t appear eager to trade Lauri Markkanen, but they’re far from competing at a high level. They could use some of their cap room this offseason to renegotiate and extend his contract, which could also help raise his future trade value.
The Lakers likely can’t entice the Jazz into a deal without including their two future first-round picks (2029 and 2031). Utah is thought to have a passing interest in Hachimura, but young players such as Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis don’t move the needle.
Would (or should) the Lakers give up future picks so far down the road?
Markkanen’s contract ($18.0 million) should make a deal even more appealing. Since the Jazz are under the cap, they could help the Lakers offload contracts en masse. How about Russell, Hachimura, Maxwell Lewis, Hood-Schifino, Wood and [Cam] Reddish into Utah’s cap room, plus the picks?
That’s quite the reset, and the Lakers still might still the flexibility to chase DeRozan via sign-and-trade without giving the Bulls any contracts back (though Chicago would need some form of compensation). If Los Angeles filled out the rest of its roster with minimum players, James would need to take about $7-9 million below his max to make DeRozan work in addition to Markkanen.
Bottom Line of Markkanen Trade
Pincus’s idea would be another game-changer for Los Angeles. However, the Lakers aren’t convinced that more than two stars work. They would likely need to get the Bulls into the three-team deal to make it work. But that would mean that either the Jazz or Bulls would not get Hachimura, the Lakers’ best trade asset. Perhaps the Bulls would take Hachimura with draft picks going to Utah.
However, a trade for just Markkenan would be way too much.
Utah has 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, and the Jazz have $28 million in cap space.
So, if the Lakers could use their capital draft with Hachimura, Russell, Lewis, or Hood-Schifino, they should.
Here is the thing: Utah doesn’t need Russell. So, unless the Jazz can immediately flip him or know they can trade at the deadline, there is no reason for them to make a deal. Plus, the Jazz can probably get a better deal for Markkanen from any team.
Here is another deal with the Jazz
Here is another idea: the Lakers get Jordan Clarkson and Markkanen for their 2029 and 2031 first-round draft picks, Russell, Hachimura, and Lewis.
Clarkson would be a cheaper and more reliable option than Russell, but he doesn’t shoot well from deep, although he is adequate defensively.
The Jazz would likely say no to the deal, though it may depend on how they see their rebuild going.
Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith
There has reportedly interest from the Lakers in Cameron Johnson and/or Dorian Finney-Smith.
Johnson is the quintessential 3-and-D player, as he averages 2.2 triples at a 39.2% career clip. The biggest question is whether he can guard small forward most of the time, thus allowing James to play the four. Johnson has spent the majority of his NBA career as a power forward.
Finney-Smith is a more versatile and cheaper option than Johnson. But the 31-year-old is not the shooter that Johnson is. Plus, Finney-Smith would not really move the needle for the Lakers.
In addition, the Nets reportedly don’t have an interest in Russell, and sending out Hachimura for Johnson is a lateral move. Additionally, the Nets would likely want a first-round pick and perhaps more assets.
Verdict: I don’t see a trade happening unless a deal for Finney-Smith occurs later in the season.
