Trae? Kyrie? Spida? Realistic Offseason Trade Ideas for Los Angeles Lakers
Plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans were let down by an NBA trade deadline that came and went with almost no action last week.
L.A. has hovered around .500 for much of the season, did not make a trade and only altered the roster by signing Spencer Dinwiddie from the buyout market.
And while Dinwiddie's addition could marginally improve the backcourt, he probably doesn't make this version of the Lakers a bona fide title contender.
But it's not hard to see why the front office chose a tweak over something more dramatic. Beyond LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the most intriguing trade assets on the roster were a solitary 2029 first-round pick and Austin Reaves. Pairing those two might have returned a solid player, but probably not a significant game-changer.
Instead, L.A., in spite of some pressure from LeBron, chose patience.
This summer, the Lakers will still have plenty of tradable salaries on the books attached to D'Angelo Russell ($18.7 million), Rui Hachimura ($17 million), Reaves ($13 million), Gabe Vincent ($11 million) and Jarred Vanderbilt ($10.7 million).
Plus, they'll have the ability to trade three picks ("2031, 2029 and either 2024 or 2025, depending on which pick the New Orleans Pelicans choose to receive as part of their return for 2019's Anthony Davis trade," according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha), rather than one.
And depending on what happens between now and the end of the 2023-24 campaign, some or most of all of the above may be enough to add a legitimate star to LeBron and Davis.
According to Buha, "Three potential targets are Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young and Kyrie Irving."
Below, you'll find potential moves for all three, plus the other approach the Lakers might have to take if the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks aren't interested in dealing.
Donovan Mitchell
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At the outset, it should probably be noted that any pursuit of Donovan Mitchell seems the least likely to be fruitful.
Just a year and a half ago, Cleveland surrendered All-Star Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, three first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps for the 27-year-old. It's not likely to get a future All-Star or equivalent draft value back from L.A. for him. On that alone, the optics are tricky.
This season, though, particularly the last couple months, makes a Mitchell deal even harder to imagine.
The Cavs, thanks in large part to Mitchell playing like a top-10 player, are one of the hottest teams in the NBA. As of this writing, they're second in the Eastern Conference. It'd be easy for the front office to talk itself into being a legitimate title contender (and by extension, a buyer in the league's transaction market) this summer.
Of course, all of that could change if Cleveland has another disappointing playoff appearance and Mitchell asks out. In that case, a deal built around Reaves, Hachimura and three first-round picks might be enough to entice the Cavs.
But that assumes a lot of hypotheticals, and if Mitchell does hit the market, other suitors would certainly get involved. If a bidding war ensued, L.A. would probably just have to hope it was Spida's preferred destination.
As we've seen in the past, stars can sometimes dictate the outcome of a trade by making it clear to non-preferred teams that he won't sign there long-term.
Kyrie Irving
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If we're going in order from least to most likely, this feels like the right spot for Kyrie Irving.
His individual trade value isn't as high as Mitchell's (which would obviously make it easier for the Lakers to get him). And he and LeBron have plenty of history. In addition to the title they won together in Cleveland, L.A. has seemingly been connected to the 31-year-old every time he's been available the last few years.
The complicating factor here is the presence of Luka Dončić on the Mavericks roster.
He plays like an MVP candidate every year, and he's typically been surrounded with underwhelming supporting casts. The moves Dallas has made to build around him are almost reminiscent of the Cavs' first go-round with LeBron. And the best the Lakers can offer for Kyrie (probably similar to the Reaves, Hachimura and three firsts package outlined above) would be no more than a lateral move for Dallas.
Lateral moves with a superstar like Dončić able to enter free agency in 2026 are more than dangerous.
And despite his struggles with availability since his arrival in Dallas, Kyrie has still shown flashes of being the kind of No. 2 who can help Dončić compete for a title.
Reaves and Hachimura, solid as they are, probably aren't that.
Trae Young
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Of the three guards mentioned in Buha's report, Trae Young seems the most gettable (at least for a package that maxes out at three picks).
And because of the position Atlanta is in (or could be in by this summer), the Lakers might even be able to do this deal without including Reaves.
If the Hawks fail to make the playoffs (a real possibility, given the fact that they're in 10th place right now), it wouldn't be hard to justify breaking up the Young-Dejounte Murray backcourt.
In the season and a half they've been together, the team is significantly worse when those two share the floor than it is when Young plays without Murray. But the 25-year-old would almost certainly command a bigger return in the trade market.
And getting D'Angelo Russell, who has an $18.7 million player option for 2024-25, instead of Reaves would give the Hawks greater short-term cap flexibility.
The Lakers could have the same problem in a bidding war for Young that they'd have with Mitchell, but the three firsts, Russell, Hachimura and a few million in salary filler could get it done for Young.
Half Measures
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Whether LeBron likes it or not, it takes at least two willing teams to make a trade in the NBA.
There are real reasons Cleveland, Dallas or Atlanta wouldn't be willing to part with their All-Star guards. In each case, there's a pretty good chance some other team could top L.A.'s offer, too.
If the Lakers are rebuffed by all three but still feel close enough to justify a move to supplement James and Davis, there are other potential targets who could push the team a little closer to contention.
And they wouldn't cost L.A. quite as much.
Jerami Grant is averaging 21.9 points and 2.1 threes, while shooting 40.5 percent from three this season. He doesn't offer a ton of ancillary contributions (at least on the stat sheet), but that kind of volume shooting could create some space for the LeBron-AD pick-and-roll.
Another Portland Trail Blazer, Malcolm Brogdon, is currently operating as a solid mentor for Scoot Henderson, but he doesn't fit that team's rebuilding timeline. And his career 39.1 three-point percentage could come in handy for the Lakers.
Young's teammate, Murray, was a target this deadline, according to Buha. He makes about half of what Young does in 2024-25. And when motivated, he's certainly the better defender of the two.
Things are going well for the Golden State Warriors right now, but like Atlanta, they're at real risk of missing the playoffs. If that happens, perhaps something as dramatic as a Draymond Green trade would be on the table.
Former Laker Kyle Kuzma could make some sense as well. Like Grant and Brogdon with Portland, he's on a rebuilding team that needs to spread minutes among younger players. He won a title with LeBron and has become a reliable 20-point-per-game scorer since they separated.
All of the above could be had with Russell and/or Hachimura's salaries and one or two picks.
And though their arrivals in L.A. wouldn't be as glamorous as those of any of the aforementioned star guards, the Lakers just might not have the trade fodder necessary to do something that glamorous.
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