While it’s highly unlikely Rob Pelinka would consider risking an extreme makeover of a defending NBA championship team, you could easily argue LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the team’s only untouchable players.
You could also suggest the Brooklyn Nets with their Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden have raised the bar and upped the stakes for what it’s going to take to win the 2020-21 NBA championship. Throw in the league leading Utah Jazz, crosstown Los Angeles Clippers, resurgent Phoenix Suns, and physical Philadelphia 76ers and suddenly the idea of the Lakers needing an extreme makeover doesn’t seem so silly.
A makeover could be just what the Lakers need as they’re mired in a 4-game losing streak without superstar center Anthony Davis for the next three weeks and with their once top five 3-point shooting now last in the league. The Lakers supposedly deep and talented roster was flawed. Anthony Davis’ unfortunate injury loss and Dennis Schroder’s untimely contact tracing loss have exposed the Lakers’ lack of capable rim protectors and shot creators.
So where does Rob Pelinka start? The Lakers need volume 3-point shooting, a modern center who can protect both the rim and perimeter, and dynamic guards and wings who can create quality shots for themselves and others. Pelinka won’t find players with those skills and talents on the waiver wire so they have to be willing to trade core members of their championship team if they want to fill the holes in their roster and repeat as champs.
Here are two trades that together would solve all of the team’s pressing roster needs and comprise an extreme makeover to transform the current struggling Los Angeles Lakers roster into the championship favorite:
- TRADE FOR CENTER KRISTAPS PORZINGIS
The Dallas Mavericks have apparently become disenchanted with 25-year old 7,’ 4″ 240 lb center Kristaps Porzingis and have been testing the waters with teams to see what they might be able to get back for him in a trade.
The above trade would immediately upgrade the Mavericks’ depth and talent and give superstar point guard Luka Doncic a trio of talented young starter or rotation players who can score the ball and defend at a high level. Caldwell-Pope or Kuzma, both on favorable 3-year deals, would be strong candidates to start at shooting guard and small forward while Harrell, who’s a free agent, would be an instant offense option off the bench.
The Lakers would get the perfect modern two-way stretch five center in Kristaps Porzingis to play alongside superstar Anthony Davis and give Los Angeles the third star they need to match Brooklyn Superstar Big Three. Porzingis is averaging 20.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 29.9 minutes per game while shooting 47.3/35.2/80.5%. Most importantly, Kristaps is volume 3-point shooter who averages 6.4 threes per game.
While Porzingis averages 1.6 blocks per game, his defensive rating has been extremely poor and the Mavs’ defense is much better without him on the floor, which is why Dallas no longer believes he is the right fit next to Luka. Playing for a defensive coaching guru like Vogel and alongside an elite defender like Davis could be the perfect situation to redeem Porzingis’ defensive chops and take advantage of his 7′ 4′ height and 7′ 6″ wingspan.
The Lakers are giving up a pair of proven championship contributors in Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma and the reining 6MOY in Harrell but they’re also getting the perfect young modern center to complement LeBron and AD.
2. TRADE FOR POINT GUARD DEVONTE GRAHAM
With LaMelo Ball now the Hornets’ point guard of the future Terry Rozier enjoying a career season, the Hornets can afford to move Devonte Graham to land a potential future superstar in 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker.
The above trade gives the Hornets the equivalent of a top five draft pick in the uniquely talented 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker, who forced his way into the championship Lakers’ rotation and has legit superstar potential. Talen will be heavily pursued next summer as a restricted free agent but the Hornets will have his early Bird and Arenas rights, which will let them match any offer and limit his first two years’ salary to the league average.
A 3-year veteran, Devonte Graham is the perfect starting backcourt mate to pair with Dennis Schroder. His ability to create shots for himself and others along with his volume 3-point shooting are exactly what the Lakers need. Devonte’s averaging 13.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 32.8 minutes per game. His strength is his playmaking and 3-point shooting. He takes 8.1 threes per game, 11th most in the league, and shoots 34.7%.
A starting backcourt of Schroder and Graham would give the Lakers two lightning quick guards who can create plays for themselves or teammates. They’d turbo charge the Lakers’ offense when LeBron was not on the floor. The biggest benefit would be the Lakers ability to stagger their minutes like Vogel does LeBron’s and AD’s minutes to enable the team to always have a dynamic point guard and superstar on the court all 48 minutes.
While they give up 20-year old budding superstar Talen Horton-Tucker to acquire 25-year old point guard Devonte Graham, the move would give the Lakers’ offense the dynamic shooting, playmaking, and scoring it needs.
The Lakers have experienced first hand just how valuable Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder are to the team. The goal of the above two trades was to duplicate the skillsets and talents that make AD and Dennis so valuable. While giving up Caldwell-Pope, Kuzma, Harrell, and Horton-Tucker is a huge price to pay, Porzingis and Graham make the Lakers a more dangerous team and give them a stronger starting lineup and more diverse bench.
LAKERS DEPTH CHART
— — — — — — — — — —
PG: SCHRODER, Caruso
SG: GRAHAM, Matthews
SF: JAMES, McKinnie
PF: DAVIS, Morris, Dudley
CE: PORZINGIS, Gasol
The Lakers still have four proven starter quality reserves in Caruso, Matthews, Morris, and Gasol who can fill minutes and create lineups to match anything contending teams might come up with to challenge them. They also have four open roster spots for a third point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and center for possible buyout candidates like Isaiah Thomas, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, and Dewayne Dedmon.
The Lakers’ new starting lineup could be the best offensive and defensive lineup in the league, with two new volume 3-point shooters, two lightning quick point guards, and a pair of modern 2-way centers to protect the rim.
The big question is would the Mavs really trade Porzingis to the Lakers for KCP, Kuzma, and Harrell? There defense is much better when Willie Cauley-Stein is at the five and they’re struggling despite great play from Luka. And defense is what they need. It comes down to whether they’re better with KP or with KCP, Kuzma, and Harrell. They’re a team that wants to win now so they’re not necessarily looking for picks as much as players to make Luka better. I think the Lakers offer could be enough but I wouldn’t hesitate to include Caruso if needed.
I was a big fan of the Lakers drafting Kristaps back in 2015 even though I loved D’Angelo Russell. I remember that workout that he had where he looked like the best shooting big man in the world. So if there’s a chance in hell the Lakers can land him, I would go all in on it. He’s worth it on offense alone and playing next to AD would either inspire him on defense or cover for him. You can’t teach the size and length he has. He would be the perfect front court mate for Anthony Davis. And I think Frank could transform him into a great shot blocking center.
What jumped out at me when I wrote the article is that the combination of Porzingis and Graham is a doppelganger for Davis and Schroder in many ways. A modern center and point guard. We saw how valuable Anthony and Dennis were while they were out of action. That’s just emphasizes how valuable Kristaps and Devonte could be as additions to the Lakers.
While I love the offense and defense that KCP and Kuzma bring to the table and the energy and scoring Harrell brings, they’re all still role players. And we all know what a THT stan I am but Porzingis and Graham are both high volume, high percentage 3-point shooters, which is exactly what the Lakers need.
Imagine a starting lineup with a Schroder and Graham backcourt and Davis and Porzingis front court surrounding LeBron James! That’s a lineup that can handle the Nets’ superstar Big Three. And that’s the challenge facing Rob Pelinka right now. This is not last year and last year’s championship Lakers squad, even with the tweaks made this offseason, is not good enough to win this season. That’s why the Lakers need an extreme makeover to repeat and win their 18th NBA championship.
Not giving up Trez unless Beal is involved. Porzzy is ALWAYS hurt. When you look at the names of those guys, we got nuttin, but AD and LBJ. The rest are just average players at best. Again KCP and Schrow equal salaries with Beal. Toss in either Kuz or Pick. Cap doesn’t matter. We only at $121 Mil next year and you need to explain why Warriors and Nets can be at $164? They don’t care about the Cap penalty. No to low fruit. Nets are the Favs.
You need to get realistic, Dave. The Wizards are not going to trade Beal for less than a package involving another superstar or multiple first round draft picks, neither of which we have to offer. Beal would require a package like we paid for AD.
Porzingis gives us the rim protector and elite volume 3-point shooter we need. He’s a gamble defensively, which is why the Mavs might be willing to trade him for an upgrade starter in KCP and Kuzma at the 2 and 3 and a 6MOY in Harrell to come off the bench.
I getcha, but no one is beating Nets if they are healthy. How many games has Porzzy played in the last 3 years? He is out with back issues tonite.
48 of 82
57 of 72
17 of 31
So, yes, he’s not been very durable the last 3 years and he’s still not fully recovered from his last knee injury, which is one reason his defense with the Mavs has not been good: 119.5 this season vs 109.3 last season. With the Knicks, it was 104.6, then 106.4, and finally 106.7 – all very good.
But that’s why he might be available and taking a gamble on a player like Kristaps is the only way we’re going to get a third potential star to go with LeBron and AD. Guy is still averaging 20.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game and shooting 35.2% on 6.4 3-point attempts per game.
One thing I agree with you is the Lakers as presently constructed are not going to be able to beat the Nets in the Finals even if they make it there unless they add a third star and some volume 3-point shooters. PERIOD! The Nets, Clippers, and Jazz have all dramatically improved their 3-point shooting. We need to make moves to match or fall behind.
And he missed a full season I think. If Lowery is healthy, I’d take him though. Even a WCS or NN as well if cheap and expirering?
I’d love Lowry and would be happy to get WCS or NN but they don’t help our 3-point shooting and don’t appear to be available.
Dave, Lakers can go over the cap, like the Warriors and Nets, in two situations only:
1. Make a trade where they are allowed to bring back 125% of what they send out. For example, send out $25M for Porzingis who costs $30M. Only works if you are not hard capped, which the Lakers are because of using the NT MLE and BAE.
2. Give a raise to a player for whom they own Bird rights, which they could do if they traded for Porzingis or Oladipo, for example. That’s why the only way for the Laker to get a third superstar is to trade for them before giving them a raise rather than signing them in free agency.
We’re not getting Beal. Lack of resources, and he’ not available.
Yes, but we could if they would. We give them KCP and Scho plus Kuz and Pick. Look you guys, I want what I want, lol!
lol, I know Deej. You want All Stars at every position AND off the bench. lol
S’all good. A dream, but all good.
And Porzzy is too $$ and too hurt. Look elsewhere.
https://twitter.com/LakerTom/status/1365371870485221378
https://twitter.com/LakerTom/status/1365372386116214786
The Work Out tape KP didn’t have the injury issues the real KP has. There is something to be said for durability and availability. We already have a knick-knack injury player in AD. I like the DG deal, I’d be in favor of that. As much as I enjoy seeing THT develop and progress I’m not sure how many growing pains this Laker squad can endure.
I’m not as concerned as many seem to be about Brooklyn. I don’t think they’re the measuring stick of the NBA, in all honesty. This is the regular season and they’re doing well, not astoundingly well, just well. KD looks more fragile than in season’s past, Kyrie is still Kyrie and Harden wilts under the brightest spotlights. I don’t see why those things have changed just because they’re all on the same team now. Can they defend at a playoff level of intensity? I’m not sure that they can. I have Philly coming out of the East since the season kicked off and I don’t see a reason to change that opinion.
I’m looking at this a little differently in that I am assuming the following things:
-We’re still trying to extend Schroder (the house has nothing to do with it, Cali property is a good buy. Even out in Tarzana) which will eat into what cap space we have next season (not too much).
-Since we used the NTPMLE to sign Trezz (which is why we cannot in any circumstances go over the cap, DJ) we’ll be exploring the waiver wire (hello Damion Jones) we’re not going to be bringing in high-priced talent simply because it means we’re shipping out too much of our core team.
-The Lakers will struggle to retain the services of Trezz next season.
All of that being true-ish (all indicators point to the Lakers continuing to extend Schroder rather than let him hit FA, Trezz will likely command a higher salary than we’ll be comfortable paying and we did in fact trigger the hard cap with our off season moves).
The players who will be made available will have warts. Either they’re recovering from devastating sport injuries (Oladipo, Porzingis), have issues with behavior in a team structure or in general (Beasley, who might not even be available), or are priced higher than their actual impact (easily 1/4 of the NBA). Furthermore some guys who we bring in won’t have the role on our team they enjoy now. Not everyone is Kyle Kuzma who was willing to sacrifice a greater role and a bigger spot light for a chance at rings.
Lastly there’s something nobody is talking about in terms of how it affects free agency and the trade market. The playin tourney. There are more ways to get into the playoffs than ever before. So even if you’re sitting at 9 or 10 (especially in the Eastern conference) you’re feeling pretty decent about your team and will be less willing to blow it up. Certainly less willing to trade with the defending NBA champs whose GM was an agent and you want to beat him so bad you can taste it. The playin trickles down to affect everything because if you can get into the playoffs you have shot at doing some damage, pulling off an upset and redefining your narrative. That’s attractive in a way that doesn’t speak to stats or salary cap.
So, to all of the above, I think the move we saw today (picking up Damion Jones) could be a precursor to a Trezz trade, maybe one that includes THT, AC or KCP but I kinda doubt it. Trezz and THT will be the most difficult to keep on the roster after this season so I won’t be surprised if they end up as center pieces to a move ROb makes.
I hope you’re right about the Nets but superstars are what count in the playoffs and the Nets have three legit superstars, realistically maybe the best Big Three in NBA history. I do agree KD may be fragile, Harden not clutch, and Kyrie, well, just Kyrie. But if they’re healthy and on fire, it almost doesn’t matter who else they have.
I’m a big proponent of this is going to be a much tougher road to the championship than last season and the Clippers, Jazz, and Nets make the road a rough gauntlet to get there. All three are top five teams in 3-point differential. To me, it’s clear. The Lakers need to get a lot better or they won’t make it past the Clippers. Seriously, without a major trade, I worry about a 2nd round departure.
I do agree with your logic on Trezz and THT being likely trade assets. There’s probably no way we keep Trezz because we won’t have any cap space and he’s worth more than the MLE. THT has great potential but right now we need shooting more than potential. I also think KCP is the other major trade asset, although his struggles have hurt his trade value.
I do think KCP, Kuzma, and Trezz are a great haul for the Mavs for Porzingis and, like you said, the only way we’re going to get an impact player back is to gamble. Right now, the worse bet is to stand pat or make minor moves because that just dooms us to an early exit. Can’t waste a rare LeBron year to go fishing and not even make the Finals, which is what are fate looks like right now.
So we need to gamble on Porzingis, Oladipo, Lowry, or some player who has the talent and fit to elevate this team to a level over the Clippers, Jazz, and Nets. Right now, 4th or 5th in the power rankings is where the Lakers belong. That deep bench was very overrated and has been exposed. Time to be bold, not hesitant. Can’t win with the 3-point shooting we have right now. Or with the roster we have right now. Lakers need major trade to get better. Otherwise, we risk becoming this year’s version of the Clippers.
“I do think KCP, Kuzma, and Trezz are a great haul for the Mavs for Porzingis and, like you said, the only way we’re going to get an impact player back is to gamble.”
I think that’s a great haul for the Mavs. We’re shipping out a lot more production than we’re bringing back and whatever bench we had will be gone. In the compressed season (of which there is still a considerable way to go) we won’t have much to fall back on. Injuries or COVID could totally decimate the team and leave us relying on Cacock or Kostas. That’s quite the gamble, IMO. Not sure Rob is feeling that hot at the roulette wheel.
Most of all it feels like you’re trading away the majority of our best small ball line up for a guy who will sit in the 4th in favor of AD at the 5. That’s where I, of all people, feel like this weakens us the most is in the non-traditional big man line up. There’s no doubting KP’s skill and shooting but I readily question both his defense and durability.
I think your DG trade makes the most sense. Make that move and explore the Trezz, maybe Trezz and KCP market for an impact player. If you move those 2 guys you’re clearing the way for DG (or THT should he stick past the TD) and Morris. Morris, to me, feels like the kind of guy who just doesn’t know what to do with a small role. Maybe he thinks too highly of himself, struggles to find a groove in limited minutes…I don’t know.
So far it’s been a really quiet trade market but there’s still about a month to go.
Good points, Jamie. It will be interesting to see what Rob ends up doing. So far, I have to say I think he’s done a great job putting the team together and has usually been a step ahead on most of his moves and has taken advantage of opportunities when they’ve been there. There’s obviously so much as an insider that we never know about, deals discussed and rejected, etc. Thanks for the great conversations. They’re what make Lakerholics a great place for Lakers fans. Looking forward to good game tonight. Hope to see you on the podcast.