How Lakers Can Make a Leap on Defense, Maximize Roster amid NBA Trade Rumors
The Los Angeles Lakers can't run away from the very real, very threatening defensive problems that could, if not corrected, derail any hopes they have of competing for an NBA title.
They also can't exactly run toward the trade market to find their fix. They'll turn over plenty of stones, sure, but supply is reportedly limited, and L.A. isn't equipped to win a bidding war.
Just look at New Orleans Pelicans wing Herb Jones, for instance. He'd be a legitimately awesome pickup for the Purple and Gold, and as a 27-year-old role player with pretty glaring deficiencies on offense, you'd think he's someone this club should be able to afford.
Yet, Dan Woike of The Athletic recently reported that the Pelicans are "not interested in moving Jones" and "almost certainly wouldn't engage" with the Lakers given how little they have to offer.
Expiring contracts hold, at best, limited appeal to teams buried at the bottom of the standings like the Pelicans are. Dalton Knecht hasn't done enough for the Lakers to position him as a coveted trade asset; New Orleans might think it basically has its own (younger) version of Knecht in Jordan Hawkins, a fellow former first-round pick failing to live up to his pre-draft billing as a knockdown shooter.
The Lakers have one future first-round pick to trade (2031 or 2032), but Woike reported the selection is "less valuable than it was viewed both before the Luka Dončić trade and since Mark Walter's acquisition of the franchise." Back when L.A.'s post-LeBron James blueprint was a big question mark, that pick felt like a real needle-mover. Now, there's no reason for potential trade partners to believe the Lakers are at risk of any steep decline in the foreseeable future.
This limited asset collection could hurt the Lakers in any trade talks, but it might be especially damning as things pertain to Jones. As NBA insider Marc Stein put it, the Pelicans have so far set the asking price on Jones "extremely high and intended to discourage inquiries."
While dreams of adding a role player are rarely dashed this early into trade season, L.A. might want to move on from the idea of adding Jones. Or at least start exploring alternatives, since that option feels off the table.
And, no, that doesn't necessarily mean looking elsewhere on the trade market, as the Lakers could encounter similar struggles with other stoppers. Rather, the team might have to take this search internal, even if that means sacrificing some offense to add more defensive resistance to the rotation.
Specifically, that process should entail working harder to establish roles for one or both of veteran Jarred Vanderbilt and rookie Adou Thiero. L.A. would lose scoring punch and spoil some of its spacing by doing so, but it would greatly increase its athleticism, versatility and energy level on the defensive perimeter.
Isn't that exactly the kind of trade-off that should be made by a team ranked seventh on offense but just 21st on defense? The Lakers have scoring to spare, but they really don't have hopes of correcting their defensive problems at the point of attack. Well, none other than hoping 31-year-old Marcus Smart can do a better job of ducking the injury bug.
Plus, it's not exactly like the Lakers are lighting it up from three and enjoying optimal spacing anyway. They're a bottom-third team in three-point makes and attempts and a bottom-half performer in three-point percentage. How much worse would things really get by finding floor time for Vanderbilt or Thiero?
Maybe the answer is as simple as unleashing the tandem and counting on the stars being skilled enough to navigate tighter quarters on offense. Maybe it isn't. The point is the Lakers need to find out.
Because their defensive deficiencies can absolutely keep them realizing their greatest goals. And based on how things look so far, L.A. will have a tough (if not impossible) time of trading its way into a solution.
