{"id":126565,"date":"2025-03-02T12:01:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T17:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=126565"},"modified":"2025-03-02T12:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T17:01:46","slug":"lakers-trade-rumors-jalen-duren-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/02\/lakers-trade-rumors-jalen-duren-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Lakers Pursue Trade Deadline Target This Summer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers have been a revelation as of late, riding a five-game winning streak and standing at third in the Western Conference ahead of tonight’s crosstown showdown with the Clippers. The team\u2019s impressive trades have aided in their meteoric rise in the standings, and there\u2019s no doubt that <\/span>Mark Williams<\/span><\/a> would have elevated their frontcourt post-<\/span>Anthony Davis<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the Lakers could revisit talks surrounding another big man they were interested in at the deadline\u2014if that center\u2019s team is willing to move him after one of their best stretches in franchise history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Could Lakers Pursue Trade Deadline Target This Summer?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Buha: Lakers “Inquired About” Duren Before Williams<\/b><\/h3>\n

During a <\/span>postgame live stream<\/span><\/a> after the Lakers\u2019 loss to the Hornets on Feb. 19, The Athletic\u2019s Jovan Buha held a Q&A with fans, and the topic of centers briefly emerged. One viewer wrote that Pistons big man <\/span>Jalen Duren<\/span><\/a> \u201cwould be ideal\u201d for the Lakers but knew \u201cDetroit didn\u2019t want to give him up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey did not, and the Lakers inquired about it,\u201d <\/span>Buha replied<\/span><\/a>. \u201cHowever, you never know if things change in the summer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Duren, a 6\u201910\u201d, 250-pound starter, has been a force for the Pistons in his third season. Across 58 games, he has averaged 11.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 blocks on nearly 70% shooting from the field and 69% from the free-throw line.<\/span><\/p>\n

Could Talks Resume in the Offseason?<\/b><\/h3>\n

No matter how the rest of the season shakes out, it\u2019s clear the Lakers need a reliable two-way big next to <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>Jaxson Hayes<\/span><\/a> has made strides since the trade deadline, and the team\u2019s <\/span>small-ball strategy<\/span><\/a> has proven effective in spurts. However, acquiring a true big should still be a priority this summer, and Duren could be that guy. He\u2019s a physical big who could protect the paint and serve as the perfect lob threat for elite playmakers in Doncic and James.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Duren making $9 million on an <\/span>expiring, extension-eligible contract<\/span><\/a> next season, the <\/span>Lakers<\/span><\/a> have enough assets to kick the tires on a potential deal. However, considering Detroit\u2019s recent success\u2014and Duren\u2019s role in it\u2014it\u2019s unlikely that President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon is willing to part ways with the Pistons\u2019 stud center.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to their <\/span>loss to the Denver Nuggets<\/span><\/a> on Friday, Detroit had boasted an eight-game winning streak. Over that span, <\/span>Duren averaged<\/span><\/a> 13.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game on 69% FG and 78% FT. And ever since Feb. 7, he\u2019s <\/span>led the team in rebounds<\/span><\/a> in all but one of the Pistons\u2019 contests.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying the Memphis alum has made a sizable impact for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. At just 21 years old, Duren is going to be a core piece of Detroit\u2019s long-term future, which makes the road toward a trade difficult for the <\/span>Lakers<\/span><\/a> or any other suitor seeking his services. If LA really wants Duren next season, Rob Pelinka would need to make Langdon and the Pistons an offer they can\u2019t refuse. Based on Pelinka\u2019s recent track record, that may not be as difficult as it seems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers have been a revelation as of late, riding a five-game winning streak and standing at third in the Western Conference ahead of tonight’s crosstown showdown with the Clippers. The team\u2019s impressive trades have aided in their meteoric rise in the standings, and there\u2019s no doubt that Mark Williams would have elevated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":126567,"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":[1608,10,26,62,4721],"tags":[4432,38,1133,4044,759,49241],"class_list":["post-126565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-pistons","category-lakers","category-nba","category-trade-rumors","tag-jalen-duren","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-mark-williams","tag-rob-pelinka","tag-trajan-langdon"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126565","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\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126565"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126583,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126565\/revisions\/126583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}