{"id":114118,"date":"2024-12-26T16:52:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T21:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=114118"},"modified":"2024-12-26T17:05:33","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T22:05:33","slug":"wizards-trade-lakers-needs-recent-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/26\/wizards-trade-lakers-needs-recent-rumors\/","title":{"rendered":"Wizards Trade Fits Lakers\u2019 Needs Most Amid Recent Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Holiday shopping isn\u2019t over for the Los Angeles Lakers, who are \u201cmonitoring the sellers around the NBA,\u201d per ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania. Singling out the Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls as potential trade suitors, the insider reveals that L.A. is willing to move <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/26\/nba-rumors-lakers-trade-first-round-picks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">up to three first-round picks<\/a> for immediate help. The caveat is that they want a player who Lakers head coach JJ Redick can help mold after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a> retires.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Shams Charania: \u201cThey\u2019re [Lakers] monitoring the sellers around the NBA: Portland, Washington, Toronto, maybe Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mnEgZNcIZP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/mnEgZNcIZP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OmerOsman200\/status\/1872351575395742021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>If so, the Wizards are the best option among the listed teams.<\/p>\n<h2>Wizards Trade Fits Lakers\u2019 Needs Most Amid Recent Rumors<\/h2>\n<h3>Toronto Raptors<\/h3>\n<p>The Toronto Raptors appear committed to the young core of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/q\/quickim01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Immanuel Quickley<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barrerj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RJ Barrett<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barnesc01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scottie Barnes<\/a> right now. As a result, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/poeltja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jakob Poeltl<\/a> would likely be the focus of and best player in their trade talks, even if the Lakers had their eye on young players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dickgr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gradey Dick<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/walteja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ja\u2019Kobe Walter<\/a>. A broad shouldered center with a familiar European game, Poeltl can definitely fortify their frontcourt rotation.<\/p>\n<h3>Portland Trail Blazers<\/h3>\n<p>A package from the Blazers would likely revolve around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/simonan01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anfernee Simons<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/grantje01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jerami Grant<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There aren\u2019t many differences between Simons and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russeda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/a>, who L.A. has been dangling as trade bait. Yet, the best part of adding Simons is his youth, as he\u2019s just 25 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Grant is probably a more valuable addition as he\u2019s a more advanced scorer than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hachiru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rui Hachimura<\/a> is right now. However, the former ninth overall pick is valuable glue piece in the starting lineup. Giving him fewer minutes may not work in their favor. The same goes for the idea of Grant allowing James\u00a0to rest more.<\/p>\n<h3>Chicago Bulls<\/h3>\n<p>High-flying wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lavinza01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach LaVine<\/a>\u00a0might finally land in Los Angeles after years of speculation. That is, unless the Lakers turned their attention to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vucevni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Vucevic<\/a>, whose blistering hot shooting could open up the paint for players like James and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Davis<\/a>. LaVine is a deadly marksman himself though, which should matter for a team that ranks in the bottom-10 in three-point conversions, three-point attempts, and three-point percentage (.348).<\/p>\n<p>If the Lakers are set on adding a younger player, 2021 No. 6 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/giddejo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Giddey<\/a> fits the description. In the immediate future, he\u2019d be a high IQ floor general who stabilized the point guard position. Down the line, he could star in it.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Wizards<\/h3>\n<p>If the Lakers were able to strike a deal with the Wizards, they could come away with a package that includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuzmaky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Kuzma<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valanjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonas Valanciunas<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/poolejo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jordan Poole<\/a>. However, the math suggests that L.A. would have to be willing to trade Hachimura to acquire the Poole.<\/p>\n<p>Kuzma hasn\u2019t gotten off to a great start this season. Nonetheless, he\u2019s an underrated scorer with playmaker who won a championship with L.A. in 2020. Valanciunas, who\u2019s even more skilled than Poeltl, was among the players James was willing to take a small paycut for this offseason. Poole, an NBA champion with a smooth offensive game, also has a tendency to shine in the clutch.<\/p>\n<p>By making this trade, it\u2019ll be like consolidating the other potential packages.<\/p>\n<p>Like Grant, Kuzma \u2014who should already have chemistry with James and Davis \u2014helps solidify the frontcourt rotation. Valanciunas does the same. Furthermore, whether or not his three-ball is falling like Vucevic\u2019s, he possesses the physical tools the Lakers have been looking for at center. Poole isn\u2019t as explosive as Simons or LaVine but he\u2019s quick, crafty, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/18\/should-nuggets-trade-for-jordan-poole\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">and on fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Holiday shopping isn\u2019t over for the Los Angeles Lakers, who are \u201cmonitoring the sellers around the NBA,\u201d per ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania. Singling out the Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls as potential trade suitors, the insider reveals that L.A. is willing to move up to three first-round picks for immediate help. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":114123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1608,8,62,23,14,4721,18],"tags":[1559,968,1628,167,1909,1128,474,457],"class_list":["post-114118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-basketball","category-bulls","category-nba","category-trailblazers","category-raptors","category-trade-rumors","category-wizards","tag-anfernee-simons","tag-jakob-poeltl","tag-jerami-grant","tag-jonas-valanciunas","tag-jordan-poole","tag-kyle-kuzma","tag-nikola-vucevic","tag-zach-lavine"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114118"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114137,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114118\/revisions\/114137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}