It is 2024, and the L.A. Lakers have still somehow failed to make a transformational trade to upgrade their roster past being just a solid team as LeBron James and Anthony Davis get older.
The Lakers will be stuck in mediocrity for the fourth consecutive season after making the Russell Westbrook trade, which may go down as one of the worst moves in NBA history.
After yet another uneventful offseason, Los Angeles is likely to head into opening night of 2024 the same way they did in 2021, 2022 and 2023: with no chance to win the championship yet a promise to upgrade the roster at the trade deadline (which they’ve never done). Short of a late summer trade, LA will once again put itself behind the eight ball in the standings as the team asks James and Davis yet again to carry a mediocre roster into play-in territory. Whether they make a move soon or at the deadline, here are the three most likely trade candidates for the purple and gold.
D’Angelo Russell
The former All-Star’s playoff failures and movable contract make him a prime candidate
For the last half-decade, the Brooklyn Nets , Golden State Warriors , Minnesota Timberwolves and Lakers have put him in trade speculation to upgrade their rosters, and the first three franchises have executed that wish.
Unfortunately for Russell, each deal his team made boosted them into the next level of contention.
Brooklyn used him as the asset to acquire Kevin Durant next to Kyrie Irving in 2019; Golden State traded him for Andrew Wiggins , who was the second-best player on their 2022 championship roster; and the Timberwolves made it to the Western Conference Finals just a year after receiving Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in 2023.
Despite Russell having arguably the best year of his career in 2023-24, he is once again the subject of intense trade rumors after he opted into his player option for $18.7 million for 2024-25.
Because he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, his deal is very desirable for franchises looking to get money off the books by trading contracts back to the Lakers.
LA would improve its roster by acquiring quality players, and any team getting Russell will clear almost $19 million next summer.
Furthermore, although Russell is an excellent regular-season scorer and playmaker, which does have value, he has proven time and again in his career that he isn’t built for playoff basketball.
His lack of size and toughness makes him a defensive target, which the Denver Nuggets exposed in back-to-back series dominations in 2023 and 2024. This weakness is exacerbated by his tendency to be a streaky shooter, which results in stretches of near-complete worthlessness on the floor in playoff games.
Rui Hachimura
Rui Hachimura is a perfect example of a player who is only featured in trade rumors because he is more valuable as an asset to move and improve a roster than he is to his current team.
It has little to do with his excellent performance as a Laker and more to do with how attractive he is as a trade piece.
Although Hachimura’s performance is welcome for the Lakers, he is too similar a player to James to get the maximum value out of his game. He and James are big, strong forwards who play better out of the post and struggle to stay in front of ballhandlers in isolation and screening actions.
If LA wants to maximize its starting lineup, the team may have to deal Hachimura for a longer, more athletic wing who can take on more of the perimeter defensive assignments and allow James to thrive in the paint as a post defender and rim protector.
With Hachimura’s excellent play since being traded to a functional Lakers team at the 2023 deadline, he is an extremely attractive asset both for contenders and rebuilding teams.
Jarred Vanderbilt
Jarred Vanderbilt ‘s presence on this list is due to one simple factor: His poor jump shooting destroys LA’s spacing on the floor, especially with Davis being a rare distance shooter.
Unfortunately, Vanderbilt has no place in the Lakers’ starting lineup or closing five. It is too challenging to ask James and Reaves to run a successful offense with the defense placing two help defenders firmly in the paint.
Davis is on the floor for obvious reasons. He is arguably the best defensive player in the league and offers many offensive attributes.
While Vanderbilt has proven to be an effective screener and cutter, having him on the floor just makes it too easy for opponents to shut down LA’s offense.
