Anthony Davis

If the Lakers want to compete for a championship this season without sacrificing their future with Anthony Davis after LeBron James retires, Rob Pelinka will need to transform the team with an extreme makeover. 

The reason the Lakers need an extreme makeover is they need more than two or three new players to fix the roster to win now and win next summer. If L.A. wants to hedge their bets, they need to keep one of their two picks. 
Finding a way to upgrade the current roster to championship caliber by using just one of their two available first round picks would enable the Lakers to have two tradeable first round picks on Draft Day next summer.

While the Lakers need to trade for players who can help them win now, they also need to shift their focus from older players on expiring contracts and focus instead on younger players on tradeable two or three year deals. 
To position themselves for a possible blockbuster trade next summer for the team’s next superstar, the Lakers need to build a solid portfolio of valuable rotation players on tradeable contracts on one or two year deals.

Right now, the Lakers need a starting point guard and small forward who can score and shoot the three. Lonnie Walker IV is the only non-superstar starter who should remain. The Lakers need two new and better starters. 
Besides Austin Reaves, the Lakers need an entirely new set of backups. They need a rim protector when AD is not on the floor, an instant offense 6th man to replace Russ, and backups for LeBron and small forward.

Fortunately for Rob, the Lakers have an opportunity with the Pistons and Hornets to trade Westbrook, six other players, one first, and two seconds for six new legitimate rotation players to transform Lakers into contender. 
The trade will dramatically improve the starting lineup by adding two 20-points per game scorers who shoot over 40% from deep and revamp the bench by adding four new backups to upgrade size, shooting, and defense.

Let’s look at the proposed trades and why they make sense for the Lakers as well as the Pistons and Hornets. And let’s review what the trade does for the Lakers’ chances to win this season and heading into next season.

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The Lakers and Pistons Trade

The Detroit Pistons have been looking to trade Bojan Bogdanovic, Alex Burks, Nerlens Noel, and Saddiq Bey. Bogdanovic would be starting small forward for the Lakers while Burks, Noel, and Bey would come off bench.

The trade saves the Lakers $7.5 million in salary this season, which can be used in the Hornets trade to take back more than they send out while keeping annual salaries neutral so there will be no additional luxury taxes.
Just as importantly, all four of the players being traded for have two or three years left on their contracts, meaning they will not only help the Lakers win this season but will be available as trading chips next summer.

For the rising Lakers, this trade is a huge win that allows them to keep one of their two first round picks. For the tanking Pistons, this trade allows them to grab one of the most valuable draft picks to come onto the market.

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The Lakers and Hornets Trade

Charlotte has been looking to trade multiple players including Terry Rozier and P. J. Washington. A poor start to the season, the Miles Bridges setback, and early injuries to LaMelo Ball have derailed the Hornets’ season.

The trade raises Lakers’ annual salaries by $4.3 million but is offset by the $7.5 million saved in the Pistons’ trade, leaving a net savings of $3.2 million for the Lakers, which should save them some luxury taxes next season. 
While P.J. Washington is on an expiring contract, the Lakers will receive his Bird rights and will be able to go over the cap to sign him if warranted. Rozier has 3 years left on his contract but could be a key chip next summer.

For the Lakers, the trade finally nets them an elite point guard who can score and shoot the three and a backup four. For the Hornets, they dump the $85 million and 3.5 years left on Terry Rozier’s original 4-year contract.

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The Lakers Roster After Trades

The Lakers went into the trades with 14 active players. They sent out 7 players and brought back 6, leaving them with just 13 active players and creating another open roster spot for future trade or buyout market.

The improvement in scoring and 3-point shooting from Rozier and Bogdanovic should dramatically upgrade the Lakers’ starting lineup. Rozier is a career 37.2% shot and Bogdanovic a career 39.4% shot from deep. 
In addition to creating space for James and Davis with their 3-point shooting, Rozier and Bogdanovic will take some of the ‘must score’ pressure off LeBron and AD as they both average 20-points per game

The Lakers’ bench will get four new players: Burks will replace Russ as the team’s 6th man, Noel will protect the rim when AD’s out, and Bey and Washington will backup Bogdanovic and James at the three and four.

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The Lakers Position Next Summer

Besides transforming their roster into a contender, the Lakers’ goal was to trade for a portfolio of quality rotation players on tradeable contracts who could be filler in a blockbuster two-pick trade for the team’s next superstar.

That is exactly what the Pistons’ and Hornets’ trades did for the Lakers. Besides their 2029 first round draft pick, the Lakers will also be able to trade whatever pick they end up with on draft day in a 2-pick deal.
Because they traded for players not on expiring contracts, the Lakers will be far better positioned this summer to pull of a blockbuster trade with two tradeable first round picks and five tradeable contracts worth $67,931,804.

Besides extremely making over their roster to compete for a title, the Lakers also smartly positioned themselves to have a portfolio of first round picks and tradeable contracts to make a blockbuster trade next summer.

Now that the MVP version of Anthony Davis has taken the torch from LeBron James as the superstar face of the Los Angeles Lakers, Rob Pelinka no longer has an excuse for not going all-in to upgrade this roster to win.

With rookie head coach Darvin Ham choreographing Russell Westbrook’s successful move to the bench and Anthony Davis’ sudden emergence as the franchise’s lead superstar, the Lakers have miraculously saved their season.
All that remains now is for Pelinka to pull off two big moves to upgrade the Lakers roster with more size and shooting: trading Beverley, Nunn, and a pick for 3&D wing and trading Westbrook and a pick for multiple shooters.

Since no trading partner has a package that fills all the Lakers’ needs, Los Angeles should split their two available first round picks, assigning one pick to the Beverley and Nunn trade and the other to the Westbrook trade. Splitting the picks is a key negotiating strategy as the Lakers need to let teams know there is no deal where they’re going to give up both picks to any single trading partner. The new max is just one unprotected pick.

So let’s take a look at the different options available to the Lakers with respect to the smaller Beverley, Nunn, and pick trade or the bigger Westbrook and pick trade to see what Pelinka’s best moves could be.

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The Smaller Beverley, Nunn, and Pick Trade?

Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn have been disappointing this season. The Lakers need to package their combined $18.2 million in expiring contracts with a first round pick in a trade for a starting small forward.

With Anthony Davis playing like the MVP, the Lakers need to get serious about fixing their starting lineup and rotation. If Anthony Davis is really going to play nothing but center, the Lakers must focus on small forward.
For the last three years, we’ve watched Pelinka overload the Lakers with small guards while ignoring the team’s need for bigger 3&D wings to defend the bigger wing scorers who consistently punish our undersized guards.

Getting serious means finding a legitimate starting small forward who can stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting on offense and have the size and length to guard the bigger wing scorers who consistently hurt the Lakers.
That means targeting proven starter quality small forwards like Bojan Bogdanovic, Jae Crowder, O.G. Anunoby, Harrison Barnes, or Kelly Oubre, Jr. rather than lower salary targets like Cam Reddish and Saddiq Bey.

Offensively, Bojan Bogdanovic is the best candidate. He’s shooting 44.1% from deep on 5.8 attempts per game. More importantly, Bojan would give the Lakers a high powered scoring wing who can get his own shot any time.
Defensively, O.G. Anunoby would the the top prospect. While he’s a 36.9% career 3-point shooter, Anunoby’s biggest appeal is his elite defensive skills. Anunoby would give the Lakers a desperately needed 3&D wing stopper.

Bottom line, the Lakers should trade Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, Damon Jones, and a protected 2029 first round pick to the Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic, who would become the Lakers starting small forward.

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The Bigger Russell Westbrook and Pick Trade?

While Westbrook has been playing better off the bench, the only way the Lakers can trade for needed multiple rotation players with size who can shoot is by packaging his $47 million contract with a first round pick.

Assuming the Lakers trade Beverley, Nunn, and a pick for Bogdanovic, who would start at the three along with Walker at the two, James at the four, and Davis at the five, their next move is to trade Westbrook for greater depth.
Specifically, they need a starting point guard who can shoot threes and quality reserves to backup Bogdanovic at the three, James at the four, and Davis at the five. That should be the goal of the Westbrook and pick trade.

Several trades could bring back a package of players to solve the Lakers’ size and shooting woes. The package that jumps out is the Jazz foursome of Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Conley would give the Lakers a proven starting point guard averaging 20.7 ppg shooting 38.6% on 4.9 apg. Clarkson would give them a legit 6MOY candidate to replace Russ averaging 19.7 ppg shooting 35.0% on 7.7 apg.

Besides guards, this trade gives the Lakers center Kelly Olynyk, who’s averaging 13.0 ppg and shooting 46.6% on 3.4 apg, and power forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who’s averaging 8.6 ppg shooting 46.2% on 1.1 apg.
Olynyk’s not the rim protector the Lakers need but he is big and mobile, can stretch the floor with his elite shooting stroke, and Vanderbilt is an excellent defender who has been having a break out season from deep.

Trading Russell Westbrook and an unprotected 2027 first round draft pick for Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, and Jarred Vanderbilt would transform the Lakers’ into a legitimate championship contenders.

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What Would Lakers Post-Trades Roster Look Like?

The beauty of the Lakers two big moves is they swap four players for five players, giving up Westbrook, Beverley, Nunn, Jones, and two first round picks for Bogdanovic, Conley, Clarkson, Olynyk, and Vanderbilt.

In the process, they Lakers replaced four players who were poor outside shooters with five players who are good 3-point shooters, including a starting point guard and small forward and a trio of backup forwards.
A review of the above Lakers’ depth chart shows that the Lakers added two quality starters in Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic and three primary backups in Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, and Jarred Vanderbilt.

The Lakers not only upgraded the size and shooting of their starting lineup but also added major quality depth to their bench. They basically added five brand new rotation players to what is now a great 10-man rotation.
That’s exactly the kind of serious trades Rob Pelinka needs to pull off to upgrade the size and shooting of the Lakers’ roster and give them the kind of starting lineup and rotation that can win an NBA championship.

Basically, the Lakers were able to replace 1/3 of their 15-man roster. They added a starting point guard and small forward who can shoot and a backup shooting guard, power forward, and stretch center who can shoot.
All five of the Lakers’ new players are plus 3-point shooters and three of them are front court players who give the team desperately needed size, rebounding, scoring, and positional defense as well as 3-point shooting.

The two trades the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off with their two first round draft picks enabled them to completely makeover their starting lineup and basic rotation to fix their issues with size, shooting, and playmaking.