The Lakers trade expiring contracts and unprotected first round picks to the Detroit Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey, and Nerlens Noel and to the Utah Jazz for Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, and Kelly Olynyk.
The two Lakers’ trades transforms the Lakers’ roster, sending out seven players on expiring contracts and bringing back six rotation players, all of whom will still be under contract and eligible to be traded next summer.
With over $85 million in tradeable contract and their 2023 first round pick, the Lakers should be well positioned to pull off a major blockbuster trade next summer should a superstar become available who to replace LeBron.
The Lakers’ trade goals are to find a starting small forward who can get his own shot and shoot the three, a starting point guard who takes care of the ball and shoots the three, and size, depth, and shooting for the bench.
Most importantly, the Lakers needed to commit to tradeable players on two or three year reasonable deals so they will have the necessary trading chips if a unique opportunity comes up to add a superstar to replace LeBron.
Building a roster that can compete a championship this season while also positioning the Lakers for an $85 million portfolio of tradeable contracts that would let them to make even more aggressive moves down the road.
1. The Pistons Trade
The centerpiece of the Pistons trade is small forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who would become the Lakers’ starting small forward and third scoring option, and backup center Nerlens Noel and backup wing Saddiq Bey.
Bogdanovic gives the Lakers a third elite scorer and 3-point shooter who averages over 20 points per game while shooting well over 40% from deep. Bojan’s size and shooting is exactly what the Lakers need at small forward.
Nerlens Noel gives the Lakers the shot blocking rim protector that they desperately need when Davis is on the bench. Last year with the Knicks, Nerlens averaged 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals in just 22 minutes per game.
Finally, Saddiq Bey gives the Lakers a promising young 3&D wing who is the perfect backup for Bogdanovic. Bey is a 23-year old, 6′ 7″, 215 lb small forward who has a great stroke and can defend his position with verve.
2. The Jazz Trade
The centerpiece of the Jazz trade is veteran point guard Mike Conley, who would become the Lakers starting point guard. Mike is a career 38.2% 3-point shooter who’s averaging 38.9% this season on 5.0 threes per game.
Conley’s real strength is his ability to run an efficient offense, something that’s been greatly missed on the Lakers this season. Conley averages 7.8 assists per game and only 1.5 turnovers per game or 5.2 A/TO ratio.
While Mike is 35-years old, his game is still strong and the Jazz struggled when he was out with injury. The Lakers have been trying to find a floor general to take the load off LeBron for three years. Conley’s the answer.
Add in Jordan Clarkson to replace Russell Westbrook as the Lakers’ 6th man and Kelly Olynyk to be the backup for LeBron James at power forward and Anthony Davis at center when the team needs more outside shooting.
3. The New Roster
The Lakers had 14 active players before these two trades. They swap six players and a pick for three players from the Pistons and one player and a pick for three players from the Jazz. That leaves them with 13 players.
The addition of Conley and Bogdanovic transforms the Lakers’ starting lineup by giving them an elite point guard to run the offense in Conley and an elite wing scorer to supplement James and Davis in Bogdanovic.
The addition of four legitimate rotation players in Clarkson, Bey, Olynyk, and Noel represents a needed major upgrade in talent and size for the Lakers’ bench. Los Angeles should have a great bench going forward.
The Lakers new roster has a dynamically improved starting lineup and much deeper, bigger, and more talented set of backups off the bench. The Lakers could have the best 10-man rotation in the league after these trades.
4. Next Summer Salary Cap
One of the goals of the Lakers’ front office for next summer is to build a portfolio of tradeable contracts, which means trading for players who have two or three years left on their contracts rather than expiring contracts.
The Lakers will have over $85 million in the six tradeable contracts that they acquired via the Pistons and Jazz trades. Conley’s only guaranteed $14.3 million and Olynyk only $3.0 million of their salaries for 2023–24.
The Lakers will also get either their 2023 first round draft pick or the New Orleans Pelicans 2023 first round draft pick as they have a pick swap as part of the original deal when the Lakers traded Pelicans for Anthony Davis.
Unlike the last two offseasons when they did not have legitimate rotation players on tradeable contracts, the Lakers will head into next summer with their deepest roster in three years and a portfolio of tradeable contracts.