Why Lakers Should Trade for Kings' Keon Ellis amid Latest NBA Rumors Ahead of Deadline

NBA trade season has dawned, and the Los Angeles Lakers should be more than willing to be an active participant within it.

The question, though, is whether they'll be able to do so.

Between their limited collection of assets and the market's apparent lack of obvious sellers, the Purple and Gold don't have a plethora of options in front of it. For instance, New Orleans Pelicans swingman Herb Jones might be a perfect candidate for a club in need of a defensive stopper, but his acquisition cost is "presumed to be beyond the Lakers' current trade means," per NBA insider Marc Stein.

Of course, there's a big difference between having limited options and having no options. The Lakers should land in the former, as they have a future first-round pick, first-round pick swaps, sizable salaries and recent first-round pick Dalton Knecht to offer.

It's worth noting, however, that last season's deadline addition of Luka Dončić took some luster away from L.A.'s future firsts. So, it's trade arsenal might be even ligther than expected.

Still, the Lakers "would naturally like to be in the 3-and-D market," per Stein, which makes sense given the team's need for both parts of that equation. L.A. is a bottom-third performer by three-point volume and a bottom-half one in terms of accuracy, so proper spacers are an obvious need.

Defensive stoppers, meanwhile, are even more essential. Defensive concerns seemed obvious on paper as soon as the Lakers slotted Dončić alongside Austin Reaves and LeBron James, and they've been perhaps even more glaring in practice. This team lands just 20th in defensive efficiency, per NBA.com, the worst such ranking by anyone with a .500-or-better record.

That's why the Lakers would love to get Jones—but again, he's presumably out of the price range. The franchise should focus its efforts, then, on prying Keon Ellis away from the Sacramento Kings.

He's the presumed headliner of the three-and-D market, per Stein, and yet, he should carry a relatively reasonable trade cost. Sacramento has severely cut Ellis' playing time (17 minutes, down from 24.4 this past season), and his numbers have seen a similar hit.

His 5.3 points are his fewest as a rotation-regular. Same goes for his conversion rates from the field (40 percent) and from three (37).

Throw in the fact he'll be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and there are a lot of reasons to believe teams will be careful how much to invest in a trade for him.

None of that should scare off the Lakers, by the way. He's still a defensive pest, and they absolutely need more of those around the perimeter. And his career shooting rates (46.8 percent overall and 42.1 from range) suggest he's much more accurate than he's shown.

A scenery change and a more consistent role might be all he needs to get back on track. The Lakers could supply both while also offering a superior group of shot-creators to help him find cleaner looks.

The best version of Ellis could help fill some of this club's most pressing needs. The Lakers, meanwhile, can offer the right elements around him to return him to that level. He could reserve nearly all of his energy for the defensive end while sustaining on an offensive diet of open catch-and-shoot chances.

Technically speaking, it would be a relatively minor move for a low-minute role player. If he winds up helping the Lakers solve some of their biggest problems, though, it could be remembered as a significant pickup that perhaps fuels this team toward reaching its greatest postseason goals.