Rob Pelinka and the Lakers may have an opportunity to pull off a pair of blockbuster trades and steal a pair of elite second-tier star players from potential dumpster fire sales by the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz.
Right now, the Lakers need to go all-in to upgrade the starting positions held by D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince if they want to be a legitimate contender to prevail and win their 18th NBA championship this season. The Lakers’ primary targets to replace D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince in their starting lineup should be the Grizzlies Marcus Smart on or after December 15 and the Jazz’ Lauri Markkanen on or after January 15.
While the Lakers are off to a relatively good start despite not having their full 14-man roster healthy and available to play, they already have a good idea of their major weaknesses and what they need to do to get better.
Despite a deep and diverse roster, the Lakers still need a viable long-term two-way point guard to replace D’Angelo Russell and a high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter to add firepower to their starting lineup.
Complicating the situation for the Lakers, LeBron James will soon be 39-years old and there’s no guarantee at this point he’s going to exercise his player option and play next season. He could leave as a free agent or retire.
While that is probably unlikely considering how well the King is playing, the Lakers know the clock is ticking and, at some point soon, they’re going to have to replace LeBron James despite how irreplaceable he will be.
Let’s look at the what it would take for L.A. to pull off a pair of blockbuster trades for the Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart and Jazz’ Lauri Markkanen that could transform the purple and gold from a contender to an NBA champion.
TRADE 1: DEC 15 — MARCUS SMART AND JOHN KONCHAR
The first blockbuster trade the Lakers should pursue on or after December 15 would send D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and their 2030 first round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for Marcus Smart and John Konchar.
The Memphis Grizzlies are a mess. They’re currently 14th in the West with 6–17 record and zero chance of making the playoffs even with Ja Morant returning to play. They should love a Lakers’ post-LeBron pick for Smart.
For the Lakers, while they valued Russell’s scoring and playmaking, in the end, they simply did not believe he could be the starting point guard on a championship team. They believe Smart is a better player and better fit.
The Lakers saw what adding Jrue Holiday did to the Bucks and Celtics defenses and believe replacing D’Angelo Russell with Marcus Smart will make the Lakers a more dangerous team both offensively and defensively.
Realistically, this trade for Smart will have to be paired with a second trade come January 15 that addresses the Lakers’ pressing need for a third star and volume 3-point shooter to upgrade the offense of their starting lineup.
The starting lineup of Smart, Reddish, Prince, James, and Davis has the potential to be a defensive juggernaut. Hopefully, Vincent will stay healthy and help Vanderbilt give a strong defensive identity to the second unit.
In Marcus Smart, the Lakers get their long term solution at point guard and a player whose heart and energy are contagious. Pairing him with Cam Reddish could give Los Angeles the best defensive backcourt in the league. Importantly, the Lakers still maintained a 12-man rotation, which give them some valuable insurance against future injuries. Considering our history and how many players get injured, consolidating could be risky.
As the Lakers have to wait until Hachimura is eligible to be traded, they will be forced to rely on their championship defense and domination in the paint and at on the line to continue to carry them until January 15.
TRADE 2: JAN 15 — LAURI MARKKANEN AND KELLY OLYNYK
The second blockbuster trade the Lakers should make on or after January 15 would send Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and what’s essentially three unprotected first rounders to Utah for Lauri Markkanen and Kelly Olynyk.
The Lakers already owe the Jazz their 2027 first round pick unless it’s one of the top four picks but could remove that protection so that the pick was essentially now a completely unprotected post-LeBron first round pick.
The Lakers could also include first round pick swaps for 2028 and 2029, which combined with the 2027 pick would essentially give the Jazz L.A.’s unprotected post-LeBron first round draft picks for 2027, 2028, and 2029.
Frankly, three post-LeBron unprotected first round picks could be the kind of offer it would take to convince Danny Ainge to trade Lauri Markkanen, who at 27-years old is now the closest thing Utah has to a franchise player.
Not insignificantly, Danny Ainge could also be the only NBA shot caller likely to still be on the job when the Lakers 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks will actually be made. He knows those picks could be top-5 picks.
The starting lineup of Smart, Reddish, Markkanen, James, and Davis could be the best in the entire NBA with an offensive ‘Big Three’ of James, Davis, and Markkanen and a defensive ‘Big Three’ of Davis, Smart, and Reddish.
Markkanen may not be a superstar but he is the perfect fit as a third star and floor stretching volume 3-point shooting forward the Los Angeles Lakers desperately need to balance their defense-first starting lineup.
This season, Lauri is averaging 23.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 33.5 minutes per game shooting 48.7% from the field, 39.0% from deep on 8.5 attempts per game, and 82.9% from the line on 5 free throws per game.
His size will also finally allow the Lakers to play the two-bigs lineups they envisioned and preferred at the start of the season before both Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes failed to play good enough defense to win the job.
LakerTom says
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Michael H says
Aloha Tom, those are extremely Laker friendly trades. Especially for Laurie, if he goes on the trade block. Which isn’t a given. Laurie will be in demand. If you want Laurie it will cost more. You will need a first round pick for sure, not swaps or taking off protections. Probably 2nds as well. Then you need to give them young players. They really don’t have a PG of the futures They drafted Keynote George but he is more of a shooting guard. So they maybe interested in JHS. They probably would want Max as well, along with Rui. That possibility could get it done, although, like I said, Laurie would draw a lot of interest.
LakerTom says
Thanks for reading and commenting, Michael.
The wild card in these trades is clearly the value other teams will put on the 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030 draft picks. These are all likely post-LeBron James drafts. From what I’ve read, these picks could be twice as valuable as a normal protected pick from another team as if they hit it could be for a top-5 pick.
Both trades would be big wins for the Lakers and would face competition from other teams. Personally, I see Smart as important as Markkanen. I don’t see many other ways to upgrade the point guard position and our defense than swapping Russell for Smart. That’s why I spent the 2029 pick on Smart.
Taking off the protection and throwing in a pair of pick swaps might not be enough for Lauri. Frankly, to get him I would not hesitate to include Christy or some seconds. Same with Smart deal frankly.
What I like most about the Ainge deal is he has to believe the Lakers picks c/b top -5 and he gets 3 shots. These picks will become the gold standard for future picks. Ainge would love to have a corner on Post-LeBron unprotected picks. That’s the other thing about swaps, no protection.
DJ2KB24 says
Not bad, but why no Bojan or Bogan of both?
John M. says
I expect Rob to hold tight and let Darvin work with what he has. They’ve indicated as much. They’re only going to go as far as LeBron and AD take them anyway.
LakerTom says
Sounds great to say, John, but oddsmakers have a half dozen teams above the Lakers, despite our recent top flight play.
We need better starters than D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince if we’re going to stop the Celtics and win #18 this year imo.
Michael H says
Find a third team for DLO because with JA coming back the Griz won’t do that trade. They brought in Smart to replace Brooks as their defensive stopper. I don’t think they would do that deal for a back up point guard. As for Laurie, just take a look at the teams that would be interested in him and what they have to offer. Do you think we can compete with OKC and their zillion draft picks? They are a team mentioned as a suitor if Laurie goes on the market.
LakerTom says
DLo can easily be flipped as he’s an expiring contract and both trades are ultimately about unprotected Lakers first round picks. Having guys on expiring or even good contracts just mean they can be moved. Better than dead money.
As for competitors, it’s never about what a team could offer. It’s what they’re willing to offer. Frankly, the Thunder could win any deal they want. I thought they should have offered 10 first round picks for Wemby.
Again, I don’t think the Thunder would be looking to trade for Lauri although there should be lots of teams who should. Comes back to Ainge and how valuable he considers post-LeBron Lakers picks. He may be only NBA GM still here in 2027-2030.
More to the point, trades like these are what the Lakers should be targeting in my opinion. Here they solve two conflicting problems. How to upgrade point guard defensively and the starting lineup offensively.
Bottom line, Russell and Prince are not championship starer quality imo.
LakerTom says
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LakerTom says
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hawk001 says
I’m not convinced that the Lakers need Smart. Lauri Markkanen, in my opinion, is the most perfect fit given his size, athleticism, and scoring ability. Are there just too many other suitors and what would the Lakers have to give up?
LakerTom says
Welcome to Lakerholics.com, Ted. I’m hoping Gabe could fill the point guard spot. I’d throw everything to get Lauri. Agree he is exactly what the Lakers need.
It will come down to the value of post-LeBron picks vs. other picks. Lakers could offer the equivalent of 3 or 4 picks. 2029 unprotected. Remove protection from our 2027 pick Jazz own. That’s two unprotected post-LeBron picks.
Then we could add one or two pick swaps to get to 3 or 4.
There will be competition and a team like the Thunder could trump any bid any other team makes. I thought they should have offered the Spurs 10 first round picks for Wemby. OKC might have gone for that.