Wayne Ellington

The biggest mistake Rob Pelinka could make would be to fail to get LeBron James the help he needs to win another NBA championship. Right now, the Lakers desperately need better rim protection and volume 3-point shooting.

The problem is almost every one of the Lakers’ competitors are also looking for shot blockers and 3-point shooters, which makes their chances of filling their desperate needs via the buyout market an extremely long shot at best. As defending champs, the Lakers do not want to panic and break up their championship roster or hurt their great team chemistry and culture, which likely eliminates making a major trade for a star or superstar player.

The good news is here are three small trades that could bring back an elite rim protector and three high quality, high volume 3-point shooters without the Lakers having to give up any of their long term core rotation players.

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1. Montrezl Harrell for Nerlens Noel and Reggie Bullock

This is a trade of backup centers by the league’s top two defensive teams with shooting guard Reggie Bullock included to match salaries. All three players are on expiring contracts and will become free agents this summer.

The Lakers make the deal because they get an elite shot blocker in Nerlens Noel who also has the mobility and athleticism to switch and defend smaller players on the perimeter, which is key to their trapping rotating defense. The Lakers also get a high quality, high volume 3-point shooter in Reggie Bullock, who’s averaging 38.1% on 4.5 threes per game, both of which would rank 3rd on the team for 3-point percentage and 3-point attempts.

The Knicks get needed instant offense off the bench in backup center Montrezl Harrell, reining 6th Man of the Year. Trez would give New York’s 23rd ranked offense desperately needed firepower in their playoff run.

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2. Wesley Matthews and 2nd Round Pick for Wayne Ellington

This is a trade of older veteran shooting guards with the Lakers including a second round pick to sweeten the deal for the Pistons. Both players are on expiring contracts and will become unrestricted free agents this summer.

The Lakers make the deal because they’re in a win-now mode and need a high quality, high volume 3-point shooter like Ellington. Trading for Ellington, who’s averaging 43.5% on 6.2 threes per game, would help fix the problem. Right now, the Lakers have a negative 3-point differential of 2.7 points, making a 27th ranked 10.8 out of 30.8 attempted threes for 35.1% while allowing a 5th ranked 11.7 out of 32.6 attempted threes for 35.8%

The 10–25 Pistons meanwhile have the 29th worst record in the league and are in full rebuilding mode. Acquiring a second round pick by swapping Ellington for Matthews helps collect assets and improves their draft status.

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3. Talen Horton-Tucker for Devonte Graham

This is a straight 1-for-1 player trade of backup lead guards. Both players are in the last year of their contracts and are expected to decline their qualifying offers and become highly coveted restricted free agents this summer.

The Lakers make the deal because they’re in a win-now mode and need the volume 3-point shooting and playmaking skills at which Graham excels. Devonte is shooting 35.5% on 6.8 threes and averaging 5.7 assists per game. While the 20-year old Horton-Tucker arguably has a greater upside, the 23-year old Graham’s 3-point shooting and playmaking are right now a better fit than THT to be the Lakers’ backup point guard for Dennis Schroder.

The 17–18 Hornets have put together an exciting young roster and the addition of LaMelo Ball and emergence of Terry Rozier have made Graham expendable. Trading for THT would give Charlotte another future star.

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The addition of Nerlens Noel, Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, and Devonte Graham would give the Lakers the elite rim protector and high percentage, high volume 3-point shooting to repeat as NBA champs.

Defensively, Noel would give the Lakers the shot blocking rim protector they miss without McGee and Howard. His impact would definitely give the Lakers’ top ranked defense a big boost the rest of the season and playoffs. More importantly, the addition of Noel would enable the Lakers to stagger his minutes with Davis to keep an elite shot blocker on the floor the entire game and allow the Lakers to have two mobile bigs to close out games.

But the biggest impact of the trades would be how they transform the Lakers offensively from a poor 3-point shooting team with a differential of -2.7 points to an elite team with a top-two 3-point differential of 9.5 points. Bullock, Ellington, and Graham combined to aake 196 out of 509 threes for a respectful 38.5% the first half of the season while Harrell, Matthews, and Horton-Tucker made just 49 out of 161 threes for a disappointing 30.4%.

Replacing Harrell, Matthews, and Horton-Tucker with better high volume shooters like Bullock, Ellington, and Graham could enable the Lakers to make 147 more and attempt 348 more threes the second half of the season. Making 147 additional threes over the last 36 games could generate 441 points or 12.3 points per game, giving the Lakers a +9.6 differential, which would have been second best for the first half behind the Jazz’s +16.8 points.

The impact of how Noel could upgrade the Lakers’ defense while Bullock, Ellington, and Graham could transform the offense is a perfect blueprint for the type of moves Rob Pelinka needs to make at the trade deadline.