We’re just over a quarter of the way through the 2022-23 NBA regular season, in which the Los Angeles Lakers got off to one of their worst starts in franchise history. But they’ve since turned their train around after a 2-10 start and now find themselves at 11-15, within the grasp of contending for a playoff spot in the West.
A few weeks ago, trade ideas likely would have focused on blowing up the roster and heading toward a complete rebuild. Yet here we are in December, and it’s an entirely different story.
The Lakers are now back in the mode of being potential buyers ahead of the February NBA trade deadline, and they’ve been linked to several trade ideas.
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Los Angeles Lakers linked to several scorers in trades
According to Shams Charania, the Lakers have identified one specific area that they’d like to improve on their roster. With the core of their team in place with Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Lakers are prioritizing boosting their stars’ effectiveness by adding more shooters on the perimeter.
Some of the names they’ve been linked to include Detroit’s Bojan Bogdanovic, as well as New York’s Cam Reddish and Evan Fournier.
Bogdanovic is averaging a career-high 21 PPG for the Pistons this season and is in the final year of his contract, earning $19.5 million. The Pistons, who are essentially tanking, would likely benefit from offloading Bogdanovic’s contract now in an attempt to add more draft capital that better fits their competitive timeline. He could also help the Lakers compete for a playoff spot right away.
Reddish and Fournier average the seventh and ninth-most minutes on the Knicks, doing just enough to stay in the rotation but not enough to take advantage of their skills.
Both players are averaging near career lows in points and minutes per game and would likely benefit from a change of scenery. The Lakers could provide just that, while taking a gamble on Fournier returning to the shooter who has a career three-point percentage of 38%.
Meanwhile, Reddish is a former No. 10 overall pick and is still just 23. He’s exactly the type of low-risk, high-reward player the Lakers should be gambling on at this stage.
But, as James Edwards III of The Athletic passes along, even though Detroit has received offers including first and second-round picks, the Pistons aren’t in a rush to deal Bogdanovic.
Therein lies part of the problem for the Lakers. They’ve indicated they don’t want to part with multiple first-round picks unless it’s for a star. Their other expendable trade chip, Russell Westbrook, has started flourishing in a sixth-man role, and the Lakers aren’t suddenly throwing the towel in on the nine-time All-Star.
In other words, expect the Lakers to continue standing pat until they get a better feel for their roster.
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