Lakers Must Think Bigger Than Danilo Gallinari amid Latest NBA Trade Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a similar situation to where they were a year ago. They have underwhelmed during the early part of the regular season, and they may look to shake up the roster before Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

That plan worked last season, as new additions like D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura helped push the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals. And it appears star centerpiece LeBron James is hoping to see a similar win-now swing in the coming days.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the 39-year-old recently donned a New York Knicks towel to send a message to Rob Pelinka and the Lakers' front office.

"Why would he mess with the Knicks? Because he was using the Knicks as a tool to pressure the Lakers," Windhorst said on the Hoop Collective podcast (h/t Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway).

One player who is reportedly being eyed by Los Angeles is Detroit Pistons forward Danilo Gallinari.

"The Lakers are among the teams who've checked in on Gallinari's price tag to acquire him, league sources told HoopsHype," Michael Scotto of HoopsHype wrote on Monday.

Gallinari would make some sense for L.A., which needs shooting help, especially on the perimeter. It has struggled to provide spacing around James and Anthony Davis and to reliably hit range shots. Gallinari still holds a reputation as a dependable three-point shooter.

However, he is also 35 years old, suffered a torn ACL last season and has seen a dip in shooting percentage—his .355 three-point percentage is solid but down from the 2021-22 season (.381) and the 2020-21 season (.406).

In other words, Gallinari is far from a "sure thing," and adding him alone wouldn't instantly make L.A. a title contender. Taking on his $6.8 million salary could also be problematic and might require parting with a young player like Christian Wood or Max Christie.

The Lakers shouldn't be eager to part with potential future contributors because there's no guarantee James will be with the franchise beyond this season, and a rebuild may be imminent.

If Los Angeles is going to part with future pieces in an effort to win now, it needs to target a bigger difference-maker than Gallinari.

Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray better fits into this category. He's a terrific two-way player who provides solid three-point shooting (3.68) and would fit well next to James and Davis in the lineup.

Murray has also been linked to L.A. According to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, the Lakers and Utah Jazz are the two teams that have had the most interest in Murray—though a deal wouldn't be easy for Los Angeles.

"The only teams I've really heard actual offers about have been from the Lakers and from Utah, and the Lakers just don't have a clear, obvious package that's gonna give the Hawks the picks they want, a player they want and a player who doesn't have what's considered to be bad long-term salary," Fischer told The Saturday Stein Line with Marc Stein (h/t Peter Dewey of Lakers Daily).

The Lakers would almost certainly have to part with their 2029 first-round pick to acquire Murray, and with the futures of both James and Davis relatively uncertain, they may be reluctant to do so.

However, the 27-year-old, who has an upcoming extension that runs through the 2026-27 season, could become a long-term building block.

Gallinari is much more of a stopgap option, and he wouldn't provide the sort of boost that a player of Murray's caliber could.

Adding Gallinari could certainly help, especially if he's only one of a few pieces brought in before the deadline. But if the Lakers are truly looking to make a win-now trade and chase one more title with James at the helm, they have to have bigger plans than simply grabbing an aging shooter to the current lineup.

And if the Lakers are simply considering budget deals in an effort to placate James, it's a mistake. Los Angeles either needs to swing for the proverbial fences in the coming days or not swing at all.