Two Trades Lakers Must Make Now to Survive Until Anthony Davis Returns

The Lakers have only won two of the seven games they’ve played since Anthony Davis injured his foot against Denver on December 16, leaving them at 14–21 with 10 games before AD’s earliest possible return.

Frankly, unless the Lakers immediately make a move to add desperately needed size, shooting, and defense in the front court, there is little chance they’ll be close enough at the trade deadline to still make the playoffs.
The numbers are daunting. The Lakers are 7 games under .500 now and need to be .500 by the deadline to have enough time to make the playoffs, which means winning at least 14 of the 20 games before February 9th.

There are two moves the Lakers could make right now to land a starting quality center to fill in and backup AD when he returns and new starting and backup 3&D wings to upsize and upgrade the small forward position.
The cost for making these moves would include the expiring contracts of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, and Damian Jones plus the Lakers 2027 first round pick, with protection if the pick ends being a top-10 pick.

By making these two trades, the Lakers should be able to win enough games to survive the loss of Anthony Davis and keep their hopes of winning their 18th NBA championship alive while still building for the future.

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1. Trade for Mo Bamba and Terrence Ross

While Thomas Bryant has done a good job filling in for AD offensively, the Lakers desperately need an immediate trade for size and defense at center and small forward positions if they hope to survive until the trade deadline.

Trading for Mo Bamba and Terrence Ross would give the Lakers two young legitimate starter quality players who can shoot the three and defend their positions to help the team whether the storm until Anthony Davis returns.
Most importantly, the Magic trade would only cost the Lakers three players in Beverley, Nunn, and Jones who had not lived up to expectations and were not needed and a first round draft pick but with top-10 protections.

Mo Bamba and Terrence Ross add size, shooting, and defense. The 24-year old, 7′ 0″, 230 lbs Bamba is shooting 38.7% on 3.0 3PA per game. He is also blocking 1.0 shots and making 0.3 steals in just 19.0 minutes per game.
The 31-year old, 6′ 6″, 206 lbs. Ross has split his time between shooting guard and small forward and is shooting 34.9% on 4.0 3PA per game while playing solid team defense. Lakers are suddenly bigger and better.

By trading for Mo Bamba and Terrence Ross, the Lakers dramatically upgrade their starting lineup with size, shooting, and defense to help the team survive until Anthony Davis is returns from his foot injury.

Mo Bamba, CE, 24 years old, 7′ 0″ 231 lbs
8.1/5.4/1.0/1.0/0.3 on 5.9/3.0/1.5 shots for 50.0%/38.4%/68.2%

Terrence Ross, SF, 31 years old, 6′ 6″ 206 lbs
8.0/2.0/1.3 on 7.5/4.0/0.5 shots for 41.7%/34.9%/70.6%

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2. Trade for Cam Reddish

The second trade the Lakers should make is to trade Lonnie Walker IV, whom the Lakers will likely lose to free agency because they do not have his Bird rights, for Cam Reddish, who fortunately has his Bird rights.

The trade is a win for both the Knicks and the Lakers. The Lakers get a 23-year old 3&D wing who was a lottery pick and shows promise both as a 3-point shooter and as a wing defender. The Lakers get size and defense.
The Knicks get a young shooting guard enjoying a breakout season, whom they can extend after trading for him or sign with cap space this summer. Either way, the Knicks get a rising young star for a player they didn’t want.

In many ways, Reddish would likely start as the backup small forward behind veteran Terrence Ross. Because Reddish will become a free agent this summer, the Lakers need to extend or re-sign him with Bird rights.
The purpose of this trade is to get rid of a guard who did not have Bird rights and could not be re-signed for a forward with Bird rights who could be re-signed. Lakers choose not to lose Walker for nothing like Monk.

Trading Lonnie Walker IV for Cam Reddish is a win-win move for the Lakers and the Knicks. Both teams should be thrilled to get a talented young player who fits their needs and whom they could easily re-sign.

Cam Reddish, SF, 23-years old, 6′ 8″ 217 lbs
8.4/1.6/1.0 on 6.8/2.8/1.7 shots for 44.9%/30.4%/87.9%

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3. The Depth Chart

The net impact of the trades is the Lakers trade Walker, Beverley, Nunn, Jones, and their 2027 first round draft pick with top-10 protection for three quality rotation players in Mo Bamba, Terrence Ross, and Cam Reddish.

The two trades not only give the Lakers a starting quality center in Bamba to fill in for the injured Anthony Davis and then back him up when he returns but also starting and backup 3&D wings to play small forward.
Until Davis returns, which hopefully will be in mid-January, Bamba can be the Lakers’ starting center with Ross as the team’s starting small forward. That should be a dramatic upgrade of the starting lineup until AD returns.

Once Davis comes back, the Lakers will have the versatility to play Bamba and Davis together in a two-big jumbo lineup or go super small on steroids with AD at the five, James at the four, and Ross or Reddish at the three.
One huge advantage of adding Bamba is the Lakers will be able to stagger his minutes with Anthony Davis so they will have an elite rim protector and shot blocker at center on the court for all 48 minutes of every game.

Trading for Bamba, Ross, and Reddish adds critical size, shooting, and defense to the Lakers’ starting lineup and 10-man rotation while only costing expiring contracts and a top-10 protected first round pick.

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3. The Trade Deadline

While Mo Bamba, Terrence Ross, and Cam Reddish would be excellent fits for what the Lakers need and quality upgrades to add depth to the roster, none of them fill the Lakers need for a third star to help carry the team.

If trading for Mamba, Ross, and Reddish keeps the season alive, the Lakers must go-all in at the deadline and trade Westbrook and their remaining first round pick to get a needed third star or multiple elite rotation players.
While the Lakers would love to get a chance to trade for a LaVine or Beal, they’d be better off if they were able to trade Westbrook and the 2029 to the Toronto Raptors for a package of VanVleet, Trent, Jr., and Boucher.

The trade landscape could dramatically change over the six weeks between today and February 9, 2023. Buyers may suddenly become sellers and players who were thought to be untouchable may become available.
If the Lakers are going to win, they must always be looking to get better and be in perpetual team building mode. Every move just has to fit in a long-term template or formula that balances size, shooting, and defense.

Finally, the Lakers need to accept trading Westbrook and the pick will give them a shot at winning a championship and leave them with a better roster than if they kept Russ and used $35 million in cap space to sign free agents.