Lakerholics

With a 17–16 record and 9th place in the West, the Lakers’ performance on the road against the West-leading Timberwolves was a microcosm of the team’s encouraging and frustrating first 33 games of the 2023–24 season.

The encouragement came from the continued good health and dominating play of superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and the Lakers’ ability to compete at an extremely high level against the best teams in the league.
The frustration came from the never-ending injury parade and inconsistent play from the Lakers’ role players and the head coach’s struggles to figure out how to build starting lineups and rotations with shooting and defense.

As the Lakers close out 2023 with a New Year’s Eve game in New Orleans against the Pelicans, they’re looking forward to the new year and to a January where they’ll play 10 of their 15 games at home in Los Angeles.
Then there’s January 15, when player who re-signed using Bird rights become eligible to be traded. Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves are the Lakers players who will become eligible to be traded on January 15.

New Year’s Eve’s the perfect time for individuals and organizations to pause and reflect where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going. Let’s look where the Lakers have been, are now, and are headed in 2024.

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Not How L.A. Season Was Supposed To Start

After miraculously making it to the Western Conference Finals last season and enjoying a supposedly ‘elite’ offseason, the L.A. Lakers and their fans expected the first 40% of the 2023–24 season to go a lot better than it did.

That’s not to say this team did not have it’s moments. For better or worse, they did champion and win the inaugural In-Season Tournament though maybe soiling their ‘Championships Only’ ID by hanging the ISL banner.
And LeBron James continues to dominate Father Time and prove he’s still a superstar at age 39 while Anthony Davis has been the heart and soul of the Lakers and has now become the alpha player L.A. must have on the court.

At their best, the Lakers have shown glimpses of the team that made it to the conference finals, especially against the best, but injuries and their inconsistent play and coaching have hamstrung them so far this season.
While injuries ravaged the role players, Gabe Vincent became the new Kendrick Nunn, DLO and Reaves’ defense became unplayable at times, and Ham continued to play defenders who couldn’t shot, the Lakers survived.

That’s all that matters right now. Last year, it took the Lakers until March 30 to reach .500. Right now, they’re already over .500 and in a dramatically better position to rise than they were at the end of December last season.
The Lakers have the league’s 22nd offensive rating, the 9th defensive rating, and 19th net rating this season. That’s a solid improvement over last season’s 17th offensive rating, 21st defensive rating, and 25th net rating.

What the Lakers learned from the first 33 games is that a healthy and engaged LeBron James and Anthony Davis is still all they need to compete for an NBA championship. Now they just need to upgrade a few pieces.

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Lakers Are Win Streak Away From 4th in West

As frustrating this season has been so far, the Los Angeles Lakers should nevertheless be grateful for where they are and the health and great play of James and Davis. The Lakers are just 3 games away from 4th in the West.

While the deep West is going to be a challenging every game, the Lakers are just a big winning streak away from catapulting themselves out of the 7–10 Play-In Tourney grouping and into the top-6 guaranteed playoff teams.
After tonight’s game in New Orleans vs. the Pelicans, the Lakers will face a more friendly schedule that has them playing 10 of 15 games in January in Los Angeles. The Lakers’ goal should be to be 4th seed by end of January.

With James and Davis dominating like during the 2020 championship run in the bubble, the Lakers just need their head coach to stabilize the starting lineup and rotation and their role players to come through and perform.
Right now Ham wants to prove the Lakers can win with a starting lineup that boasts two elite defenders who are non-shooters in Cam Reddish and Jarred Vanderbilt. For a change, that lineup was great against the Wolves.

To his credit, since the lineup change where Reddish, Vanderbilt, and Prince join superstars James and Davis, the Lakers have competed at a high level despite playing the league’s best. Ham’s not likely to backtrack now.
But the need for a trade soon is growing as Ham leans more and more on James and Davis. If what they want necessitates trading Rui Hachimura or Austin Reaves, the Lakers will then have to wait until after January 15.

Meanwhile, the Lakers hope their recent improved 3-point shooting will continue as they pray and hope they can push the ‘Go Bigger’ philosophy to win games until they can pull off a desperately needed blockbuster trade.

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What’s Missing For Lakers to Have Happy 2024?

New Year’s Eve’s the perfect time for individuals and organizations to pause and reflect where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going. Embracing that, here’s what’s missing for the Lakers to have a happy 2024.

1. New Starting Point Guard
   The Lakers are committed to trading D’Angelo Russell, which means they must also bring back a new point guard via trade or play James at the point guard. The best solution may be to trade Russell and draft capital to the Atlanta Hawks for point guard Dejounte Murray.
2. New Starting Power Forward
   The Lakers also need to find a second big to pair with Anthony Davis who can provide better 3-point shooting and offensive spacing than Jarred Vanderbilt. The ideal solution to giving the starting lineup more firepower and playmaking would be to trade for Kelly Olynyk.
3. New Backup Center
   The Lakers need to double down on their winning blueprint of winning points-in-the-paint and free-throws-made by investing via trade in a quality rim protector to play center when Anthony Davis rests. Top solution to fill that role would be a trade for Wizards’ Daniel Gafford.

Below is a the result of Lakers trades for Dejounte Murray, Kelly Olynyk, and Daniel Gafford. Hawks would get Lakers 2029 pick and 2028 & 2029 swaps, Jazz no protection on 2027 pick, and Wizards 2 second rounders.

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Lakers Depth Chart After Trades:

PG: Dejounte Murray, Austin Reaves, Jalen Hood-Schifino
SG: Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Max Christie
SF: LeBron James, Jarred Vanderbilt, Maxwell Lewis
PF: Kelly Olynyk, Christian Wood
CE: Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Jaxson Hayes

The Los Angeles Lakers are now reportedly focusing their attention on a potential trade deadline move to acquire Atlanta Hawks’ star point guard Dejounte Murray instead of Chicago Bulls’ shooting guard Zach LaVine.

Physically, both players are approximately the same age and height, although Dejounte Murray has 2″ more wingspan and is in his 7th year in the NBA while LaVine weighs 20 lbs more and is in his 10th NBA season.
Zach has a history as an elite high-volume 3-point shooter but is currently only averaging 33.6% on 7.1 threes per game while Dejounte is shooting a career best 37.4% on a career high 6.2 threes per game for the season.

Dejounte Murray and Zach LaVine are both clients of Klutch Sports Group, who also currently represent Lakers’ superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well as valuable role players Cam Reddish, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Here’s a breakdown of Dejounte Murray’s and Zach LaVine’s physical vitals, current annual salary, and current season and career statistics for points, rebounds, assists, types of shots attempted, and percent of shots made:

• Dejounte Murray, 27-years old, 6′ 5″, ws 6′ 8″, 180 lbs, $18.2M
  2023–24: 20.2/4.5/5.3 on 16.9/6.2/2.9 shots for 45.8%/37.4%/83.0%
  Career: 14.4/5.8/5.1 on 12.7/2.9/2.2 shots for 45.8%/34.1%/78.9%
• Zach LaVine, 28-years old, 6′ 5″, ws 6′ 10″, 200 lbs, $40.1M
  2023–24: 21.0/4.9/3.4 on 16.6/7.1/4.6 shots for 44.3%/33.6%/86.6%
  Career: 20.5/4.0/3.9 on 15.8/5.8/4.4 shots for 46.4%/38.2%/83.4%

While both players would immediately become third best on the team, Dejounte Murray is a better fit than Zach Lavine for what the Lakers need for five important reasons: price, contract, position, defense, and health.

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1. PRICE

The price of trading for Dejounte Murray in terms of matching salaries would be less than for Zach LaVine because the Lakers would only have to give up players earning a combined $18 million rather than $40 million.

While the Lakers would have to give up their 2029 first round draft pick, there’s an argument that giving a pair of surrounding pick swaps to a perpetual underachiever like the Atlanta Hawks was reasonable risk.
The Lakers not having to give up an additional $22 million in players for LaVine could be the difference between being a legit, deep championship contender or top-heavy pretender with 3-stars and no depth like the Suns.

The Lakers should trade for Dejounte Murray rather than Zach LaVine because the combined salaries saved would let them to retain their depth and keep up to $22 million in non-minimum salary rotation players.

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2. CONTRACT

The $132 million owed Dejounte Murray the next five years if the Lakers trade for him would be a much more manageable contract than the 4-year $178 million contract they would assume if they traded for Zach LaVine.

Dejounte Murray’s reasonable 5-years and $132 million would not hinder the Lakers financially, unlike Zach LaVine’s 4-year $178 million contract, which would clearly push the Lakers past the first luxury tax threshold.
More importantly, if the Lakers traded for LaVine, they would end up with significantly greater risk by putting all of their eggs into one basket rather than spending that $40 million per year on multiple rotation players.

The Lakers should trade for Dejounte Murray instead of Zach LaVine to insure greater financial flexibility over the next five years and reduce the risks of major injury by not adding a third max contract player.

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3. POSITION

Because the Lakers have committed to replacing D’Angelo Russell as their starting point guard, they would be smart to trade for the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray instead of Bulls’ Zach LaVine because he’s a legitimate point guard.

Right now, the Lakers are so desperate to find a starting point guard Darvin Ham has LeBron James playing the point, which has resulted in a dramatic drop in spacing and caused an uproar in social media to fire Darvin Ham.
The Lakers are hopeful that not having to share the point guard position with Trae Young could result in Murray posting numbers close to what he did in San Antonio in 2021–22 when he averaged 21.1/8.3/9.2 in 34.8 mpg.

The Lakers need a point guard to replace D’Angelo Russell, whom they’re committed to trading, and Dejounte Murray is a better solution than Zach LaVine because he would be able to play his natural point guard position.

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4. DEFENSE

What really separates Dejounte Murray from Zach LaVine as a star is his defense. Murray was NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2018 and averages 2.0 steals and blocks per game vs. LaVine’s 1.1 steals and blocks per game.

One of the recurring issues the Lakers have suffered over the last few years is the inability to find legitimate 3&D players who cannot be played off the court by either their inability to space the floor or to play quality defense.
The Lakers miss the aggressive point-of-attack defense of Dennis Schroder and hope Dejounte Murray, with his 6′ 5″ size, 6′ 10″ wingspan, and physical athleticism, could be the elite two-way point guard they desperately need.

Defense could be the single more important reason why the Lakers should trade for Dejounte Murray rather than Zach Lavine and why the former is a far better fit for what defense-first coach Darvin Ham wants for the team.

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5. HEALTH

Health and availability strongly favor the Lakers trading for Dejounte Murray, who is more durable and has averaged 66 games per season over 7 seasons vs. Zach LaVine who only averaged 62 games over 10 seasons.

LaVine’s health situation is further exacerbated by a current foot injury that’s kept him out of play the last few weeks and just highlights the real concerns over his balky knee and questionable prior injury history.
Murray has also logged fewer games and minutes than LaVine. In 10 years, Zach has played 573 games and 18,000 minutes over his career compared to just 424 games and 12,000 minutes for Dejounte over his 7 seasons.

Health and durability are another reason the Lakers should trade for Dejounte Murray rather than Zach LaVine. Murray is younger, has played a third fewer games and minutes than LaVine, and is less of an injury risk.

While the Lakers quietly built a roster that can not only compete for an championship right now but also potentially contend after LeBron retires, James and Davis in championship form complicates their decisions.

The Lakers have always believed a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis were all they need to contend for a championship. Back-to-back 40-point games from their two superstars have just reminded them of that.
With LeBron turning 39 in a few days, Rob Pelinka knows now is the time for the Lakers to go all-in to win because this season is likely the team’s and James’ last and best opportunity to win another NBA championship.

The problem is the Lakers are trying to build a deep and diverse roster to win titles now and after LeBron retires while simultaneously trying to trade for a third superstar to replace James and become Davis’ co-superstar.
The Lakers must decide whether to gamble on pursuing a trade for the Bulls’ Zach LaVine, a talented, sharp-shooting 28-year old two-guard with an injury history and massive contract who could replace LeBron James.

The consensus among pundits is LeBron James’ and Anthony Davis’ recent superstar play has ratcheted up the pressure on Rob Pelinka and Lakers’ front office to pull off a mega trade for LaVine as their third superstar.
A healthy and dominating James and Davis probably increases the odds the Lakers will pursue a major blockbuster move like trading for Zach LaVine, especially if the price is low since there don’t seem to be any competitors.

However, there are compelling arguments that a smarter and safer path for the Lakers to pursue could be to trade for three elite rotation players who combined earn $40 million per year rather than pay it to just one player.

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Trading for Three Players SMARTER Than Trading For LaVine

The Lakers would be smarter to trade for three players who combined earn $40 million per year rather than one player because they have more roster needs to fill than a single player making $40 million per year could provide.

Assuming they plan to start LeBron James at point guard, the Lakers clearly need more shooting, playmaking, and rebounding in the starting lineup and a better defensive center to protect the rim when Anthony Davis rests.
While Zach LaVine would provide their starting lineup with desperately needed shooting, rebounding, and playmaking, the Lakers would still have to sacrifice valuable bench depth and diversity and financial flexibility.

Instead, the Lakers could decide to trade for Kelly Olynyk, Daniel Gafford, and Tyus Jones, who together earn $38.5 million per year, and would add starting lineup shooting, rebounding, and playmaking and a backup center.
There’s even the possibility that the Lakers might be able to get Olynyk by removing 1–4 protection from the 2027 first round pick they owe the Jazz and offering multiple second round picks to Wizards for Gafford and Jones.

That would give L.A. a starting lineup of LeBron James, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, Kelly Olynyk, and Anthony Davis and bench of Tyus Jones, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Daniel Gafford.
Olynyk replacing Vanderbilt could transform the Lakers’ starting lineup with his elite 3-point shooting, rebounding, and playmaking and Jones and Gafford would add needed playmaking and rim protection to the bench.

The combination of Olynyk, Jones, and Gafford would provide the Lakers starting lineup and rotation with more depth and diversity than they could get from a single player making $40 million per year like Zach LaVine.

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Trading for Three Players SAFER Than Trading For LaVine

Trading for Kelly Olynyk, Tyus Jones, and Daniel Gafford, who make $38.5 million per year combined, is considerably safer than putting all your eggs in one basket by trading for a single $40 million player like Zach Lavine.

The problem with trading for a third superstar like LaVine is the Lakers would essentially be gambling all of their trading chips on just one player when our record and performance tells us we need three new players.
While LaVine could be a great fit if he stayed healthy and played defense, there’s major risks the Lakers could repeat the Russell Westbrook trade and end up like with a three superstars and nothing else like the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers would be much safer by splitting that $40 million in annual salary between three players like Kelly Olynyk, Tyus Jones, and Daniel Gafford rather than betting it all on just one player like Zach LaVine.
Having three players instead of one could also cushion the Lakers from adverse events like injuries, foul trouble, off-games, or bad matchups and provide invaluable insurance should they fall victim to an adverse event.

The Lakers showed in their last two games that LeBron and AD are still top-5 superstars and that what they need most is three strategic upgrades to their starting lineup and rotation instead of a gamble on a third superstar.

While the Lakers rode their new defense-first jumbo starting lineup to an impressive road win over the rising Thunder, the way they won earned praise and respect but also raised legitimate concerns over sustainability.

The problem is the Lakers simply can’t count on LeBron James having a 40/7/7 game, Davis a 26/11/7 game, and the team hitting 16 of their 32 shots from deep every game. That’s simply not a sustainable winning formula.
But for a Lakers team struggling to rediscover the identity that carried them to the conference finals last year, turning to LeBron to play point guard and doubling down on size and defense could be their best option.

While just one game, last night’s statement win over the Thunder was a ‘must win’ for the Lakers and to the team’s credit, everybody in the new and narrowed 8-man rotation played very well and contributed to the victory.
Despite the win, the Lakers still need more playmaking and volume 3-point shooting in the starting lineup and a quality backup center when AD rests. Those are upgrades that will likely force the Lakers to make trades.

Most pundits project the Lakers waiting until late January or early February to make a trade when more players will be available but L.A. needs better starting shooting and playmaking and backup center rim protection now.
Unless they’re waiting for a player who can’t be traded until January 15 or they’re planning to trade Austin Reaves or Rui Hachimura, there’s just no reason for the Lakers to wait any longer. They need a big trade right now.

Let’s look at why the Lakers changed to this new starting lineup, what worked for the new lineup last night, and what’s worrisome and needs to be addressed via the trade market to build a championship starting lineup.

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WHY THE CHANGE?

The primary reasons the Lakers opted to insert Jarred Vanderbilt into the starting lineup to replace D’Angelo Russell was to allow LeBron James to play point guard and enable the Lakers starters to ‘switch everything.’

The situation that triggered Ham’s decision to turn to LeBron James at the point was D’Angelo Russell’s poor play over the last 6 games and news that backup point guard Gabe Vincent is now likely to miss a couple of months.
Despite spending the past 3 years looking for point guard to save LeBron wear-and-tear, the Lakers have now apparently decided to put the ball back in his hands and let him take complete ‘hands on’ charge of their offense.

Last night, we saw how important it is for the Lakers to have the ball in LeBron James hands as the team not only played their best game of the young season but also splashed 16 threes and a season high 37 assists.
While the Lakers new starting lineup will have to be adjusted before the trade deadline to add shooting and playmaking, it’s already transformed the Lakers’ offense by focusing every possession on James and Davis.

Switchability was also the other major reason why the Lakers went to the jumbo starting lineup because it would allow them to ‘switch everything,’ which makes it much easier for defenders to stay in front of their man.
Russell and Reaves were ultimately were sent to the bench because they were targeted by other teams due to their poor defense. Unfortunately, there’s no way DLo or Austin could play in a ‘switch everything’ defense.

The strategy behind the Lakers’ new defense-first jumbo starting lineup is to put the ball in the hands of LeBron James and let him control the offense while allowing the team’s big and long defense to ‘switch everything.’

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WHAT’S WORKED?

The major benefit the Lakers got from their new defense-first jumbo lineup was a renewed focus on getting the ball into the able hands of their two superstars and letting them score or distribute the ball as needed.

While it’s only one game, the new starting lineup certainly unleashed LeBron James and Anthony Davis to dominate and be their best, posting a combined total of 66 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.
With James at point, the Lakers offense was a juggernaut the Thunder just could not handle, shooting 52.2% from the field, 50.0% from deep on 32 threes, 82.2% from the line on 23 free throws, with a season high 37 assists.

With James now calling the shots for the offense and Davis calling them for the defense, the Lakers finally appear to be in sync as to how they’re going to win games. The Lakers are focusing on optimizing their two superstars.
We saw last night that the Lakers have recommitted to using their defense to trigger their offense, winning the fast break points over OKC by 10 points. No more Russell slow-walking the ball up court after made basket.

While the stats are too small at this point to be meaningful, the new lineup and the team’s performance in a ‘must win’ game has raised Lakers fans’ hopes that they can somehow parlay tomorrow’s game into another win.
The Celtics will be a big challenge for the Lakers but at least it will be a home game. If we can beat OKC and Boston back-to-back, it would be a major statement like beating the Bucks and Clippers back-to-back in 2020.

The Lakers’ new defense-first jumbo starting lineup worked to perfection last night, allowing LeBron as point guard to take over and direct the team offensively while the lineup’s size and length shrunk the court defensively.

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WHAT’S NEEDED?

While the Lakers new starting lineup unleashed LeBron and AD to have elite superstar games, the Lakers still need a volume 3-point shooting 3&D wing, a second big to play with and backup AD, and a backup point guard.

These are all roster needs that the Lakers will not be able to solve internally and will likely be forced to trade for players to fill those needs. The players the Lakers are most likely to trade at this point are Russell and Vincent.
Unless the Lakers are willing to trade Reaves or Hachimura or are waiting to trade for a player who can’t be traded until January 15, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be looking to make an immediate trade to fix their roster.

The challenge for the Lakers is how do you solve the lack of shooting and playmaking from a starting lineup of James, Reddish, Prince, Vanderbilt, and Davis? Whomever you add will have to be able to ‘switch everything.’
How would Zach LaVine fit at shooting guard next to LeBron James? How about Trae Young or Dejounte Murray or Alex Caruso? What does the Lakers new defense-first jumbo starting lineup tell you about their plans?

The Lakers new starting lineup desperately needs a volume 3-point shooter whom opposing teams will respect and game plan and for and whose size and defense will enable him to effectively ‘switch everything’ on defense.
The Lakers could do this by replacing Vanderbilt with a second defense-first big like Daniel Gafford or a second offense-first big like Kelly Olynyk. Either could survive in a ‘switch everything’ defensive environment.

Look for the Lakers to make moves in early January to fix their pressing roster needs by trading for a starting big to pair with and backup Davis, a starting volume 3-point shooting 3&D wing, and a backup point guard.

The warning signs are flashing red as the Lakers’ season turned sour as they lost their fourth game in a row and fifth in their last five and now face the possibility of being mired in a 6-game losing streak come Christmas.

While the players are saying they need to pull together like they did for the In Season Tournament and play harder and better, the truth is the Lakers need a blockbuster trade now. They can’t afford to wait until January 15.
The good news is the Lakers have multiple players on team friendly deals who can be traded right now and valuable post-LeBron James draft capital that should enable them to immediately upgrade their roster via trade.

Nine Lakers players who are now eligible to be traded include D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish, Christian Wood, Maxwell Lewis, and Max Christie.
Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura cannot be traded until January 15 and Jarred Vanderbilt cannot be traded until next summer. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both considered to be untouchable by the Lakers.

When it comes to draft capital, the Lakers are in a better position than many analysts believe. While they only have one tradable first round pick, it’s for either the Lakers’ 2029 or 2030 post-LeBron James first round pick.
Were the Lakers to make that pick unprotected, it would immediately become the new gold standard in NBA first round picks. The Lakers could also include two or three pick swaps, which would also be highly valued.

The Lakers two greatest needs right now are to replace D’Angelo Russell at point guard and find a potential second big to pair with Anthony Davis in the starting lineup and fill in for him when he goes to the bench to rest.
The proposed trades send out a package that includes D’Angelo Russell and one or two players to get back a point guard to replace DLo and a big to play with AD. The draft capital included differs based on the players received.

The Lakers cannot afford to wait until January 15 because the help they need is not going to come internally. Here are six trades for a new point guard and big man the Lakers can make right now to save the season.

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1.Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn

Lauri Markkanen should be the Lakers top trade priority as he would be the perfect fit as a third star in the front court with LeBron and AD. His size, mobility, 3-point shooting would transform the Lakers.

For draft capital, the Lakers could offer a nearly unmatchable package that is the equivalent of 4 unprotected post-LeBron first round: 2029 pick, 2027 pick with 1–4 protection removed, 2028 pick swap, and 2030 pick swap. That’s the kind of return that Danny Ainge could not resist and the kind of draft capital offer that only the Oklahoma City Thunder could beat. Danny Ainge could be the only GM still here when 2027 to 2030 come around.

Markannen would give the Lakers a legitimate third star to pair with James and Davis and Dunn would be an excellent backup point guard. Swapping Russell and Christie for Markkanen and Dunn should Lakers’ top priority.

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2. Daniel Gafford and Tyus Jones

Daniel Gafford should be the L.A. Lakers’ next trade priority if they can’t pull off a mega trade for Lauri Markkanen. Gafford has the defensive and rim protection chops to step right into a Lakers two-bigs lineup with AD.

What makes this trade so attractive is both Gafford and Jones could easily step into the Lakers starting lineup. Jones is an excellent 3&D point guard with great ball security and Gafford the defensive center the Lakers need. There’s also a good chance the Lakers could pull off the trade with just two or three second round picks rather than giving up their one first rounder. Remember they got Rui from the Wizards for three second round picks.

Being able to replace Russell and Prince with two proven contributors who are better fits in Jones and Gafford at a cost of two or three second round picks would dramatically improve the Lakers starting lineup and rotation.

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3. Marcus Smart and Xavier Tillman

Marcus Smart and Xavier Tillman should be the Lakers third best option. Smart was All-Defensive Second Team last season, a former 3-time All-Defensive First Team, and former 2022 Defensive Player of the Year.

Xavier Tillman is an excellent defensive power forward and center who averages 6.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 blocks and 1.6 steals in just 20.6 minutes per game. He would be great as second big next to AD.
Trading Russell and Hayes won’t be enough for the Grizzlies to give up Smart and Tillman so the Lakers will likely have to include either their 2029 or 2030 first round pick with 1–5 protection in order to motivate Memphis.

Trading for Marcus Smart would essentially be the Lakers doubling down on defense as their identity and calling card. He and Tillman would transform the Lakers into a defensive juggernaut and top-3 NBA defense.

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4. Kelly Olynyk and Kris Dunn

Kelly Olynyk may lack the defensive and shot blocking chops of a Daniel Gafford or Xavier Tillman but his 3-point shooting, versatile playmaking, and high basketball IQ make him an dynamic fit next to Anthony Davis.

Kris Dunn is a 29-year old veteran point guard whose strength is his defensive ability although he has shot over 40% the last 2 seasons although on small number of shots. Dunn would be a excellent backup at point.
The Lakers would probably also have to give the Jazz a couple of second round picks as draft capital to incentivize them to make the trade but should not have to give up a first round pick for Olynyk and Dunn

Olynyk would be an outstanding fit as the second big next to Davis in the Lakers’ starting lineup and as AD’s replacement when he goes to the bench to rest and Dunn would give the Lakers a solid backup point guard.

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5. Alex Caruso and Andre Drummond

Alex Caruso should never have been allowed to leave in free agency and the Lakers should jump at the opportunity to bring him and Andre Drummond back, even if it cost them a protected 2029 or 2030 first round draft pick.

The problem is Caruso is not really a point guard, which means the Lakers would still have to make other moves to find a replacement for Russell at point guard unless Vincent can surprise everybody and become the starter. While Drummond would be a better backup center than Hayes, he’s not capable of starting and would only play when Davis was resting. The deal would be more attractive if the Bulls were willing to take multiple seconds.

If the Lakers can’t reach agreement with the Jazz for Markkanen and Nunn or Olynyk and Nunn or the Grizzlies for Smart and Tillman, then Caruso and Drummond would be the next best deal for a point guard and big.

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6. Pelicans’ Jonas Valanciunas and Dyson Daniels

Should the Lakers not be able to pull off a trade with the Jazz, Wizards, Grizzlies, or Bulls, they should look to trade D’Angelo Russell and Jalen Hood-Schifino to the Pelicans for Jonas Valanciunas and Dyson Daniels.

Jonas Valanciunas would give the Lakers the second big to start alongside Anthony Davis in a two-bigs lineup. While he only takes two threes per game, Jonas is shooting 38% from deep and averaging a double-double.
Valanciunas is actually perfect as a second big to play next to and backup Anthony Davis when he rests. He can stretch the floor to give AD and LeBron better spacing and he can bang with the bigger more physical bigs like Jokic to preserve Davis from getting injured or fatigued on defense.

Dyson Daniels is the sleeper in the trade and would be an excellent backup point guard prospect for the Lakers with future starting potential. He could be a game-changing point-of-attack defender for the Lakers at 6′ 8.”
Valanciunas is 31 and not part of the Pelicans’ long-term plans but Daniels as a key part of the team’s rotation and would probably ask for the Lakers to include their 2029 or 2030 unprotected first round pick to include Daniels.

Trading for Jonas Valanciunas and Dyson Daniels would enable the Lakers to upgrade their starting lineup by starting Jonas at the five with AD at the four and their primary backups with Dyson at the one and Jonas at the five.