New NBA Trade Rumors Reveal Lakers as Potential Landing Spot for This Thunder Veteran

Lu Dort was an important part of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 2025 championship run, but he reportedly could be a target of the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported Saturday that Oklahoma City is expected to exercise its $17.2 million team option on Dort's contract for next season and then consider trading him since it already has Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, Jared McCain and Alex Caruso in the fold.

"Should such a scenario happen, Dort has been linked with the Lakers and several other teams," Scotto wrote.

Los Angeles was an ugly 20th in the league in defensive rating last season, per NBA.com, which is one reason it was swept by Dort and the Thunder in the second round and never posed a realistic threat in the series.

While the future of LeBron James and Austin Reaves will be the biggest storyline for the Purple and Gold this offseason, they also need to improve the defense.

And adding someone like Dort would be an ideal way to do just that.

Dort was an All-Defensive First-Team selection during the Thunder's 2024-25 championship campaign and is known for his overall physicality and versatility on that end of the floor that allows him to defend multiple positions.

He is physical enough to guard bigger players but also athletic enough to stay in front of some smaller ones depending on the overall matchup.

Still, there are some concerns about his offense with his future under the spotlight this offseason. Dort connected on 43.5 percent of his field-goal attempts and 41.2 percent of his three-pointers during the championship season, which was particularly important when opposing defenses collapsed on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

However, Dort hit just 38.5 percent of his field-goal attempts and 34.4 percent of his threes this past season.

Much like the Thunder with SGA, the Lakers would need Dort to consistently hit from the outside when defenses are focused on stopping Luka Dončić (and James and Reaves, assuming they both return).

The defense is excellent, but he could be a ceiling-altering addition if he returns to the form he previously displayed on the offensive end of the floor.