The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves at 3-5 on the season and coming off an humiliating 34-point road loss to the Houston Rockets.
Anthony Davis is injured again. Free agent signings Cam Reddish and Gabe Vincent have done nothing of substance. Austin Reaves has struggled after signing a huge contract during the summer. Meanwhile, LeBron James is averaging a resounding 35 minutes per game at the age of 38. That’s just not sustainable. Even James knows this.
It has already led to speculation that Los Angeles is scouring the NBA trade market for an upgrade. The issue here is that the Lakers can’t offer a first-round pick until 2029. They also have only five second-round selections to offer other teams through the 2030 NBA Draft.
Meanwhile, general manager Rob Pelinka and Co. have in the past pushed back against exhausting long-term draft capital to keep what seems to be a narrow championship window open.
With that said, these struggles to open the season could put the Lakers in panic mode. They could also lead to James putting pressure on the front office to act. He’s done this in the past, including at pretty much every other stop in his Hall of Fame career.
With limited assets, it will be difficult for the Lakers to pull off a needle-moving blockbuster trade. Here, we look at four options if Los Angeles opts to panic here soon.
Related: Updated NBA trade rumors
Los Angeles Lakers bring back Alex Caruso
- Lakers get: Alex Caruso
- Bulls get: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Max Christie, Maxwell Lewis
The Lakers have been linked to their former point guard in NBA trade rumors recently. In a vacuum, it makes sense. Pelinka and Co. regret letting the former undrafted free agent walk ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Acquiring Caruso would provide Los Angeles with the toughness and on-ball defense that it is missing on the roster right now. He put up a 2.6 defensive win shares a season ago and is hitting on what would be a career-high 59% of his shots thus far in the 2023-24 campaign.
While giving up three young players would make this panic move, the Lakers would have to do that in order to make the salaries match. Their recently-signed and re-signed players can’t be moved until later in the season.
Related: Los Angeles Lakers standing in Sportsnaut’s NBA power rankings
Lakers admit Gabe Vincent mistake
- Lakers get: Collin Sexton
- Jazz get: Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, two 2nd-round picks
Like most Lakers trade scenarios, this one couldn’t be completed until mid-December. That might also be the timeline for Los Angeles to make a move in that it will then have had a large enough sample size to realize the status quo is not working.
Signed to a three-year, $33 million contract during the summer, Vincent has yet pan out in Southern California. The veteran guard is averaging 6.0 points on a mere 39% shooting from the field. He’s also currently sidelined with a knee injury.
While acquiring Sexton wouldn’t seem like a fit with D’Angelo Russell on the Lakers’ roster, there is some method to this madness. He’s still only 24 years old and was a 20-point scorer earlier in his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sexton also has more upside than Vincent. In return for acquiring an upgrade, Los Angeles moves off Hood-Schifino and two future second-round picks while keeping its first rounders.
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Los Angeles moves off Austin Reaves
- Lakers get: Marcus Smart
- Grizzlies get: Austin Reaves, Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2nd-round pick
This former undrafted free agent from Oklahoma was the talk of Los Angeles last season, averaging 13 points on 40% shooting from distance. It netted Reaves a four-year, $53.8 million contract during the offseason.
About that? Reaves has struggled through eight games, shooting just 28% from distance while turning the ball over nearly three times per game. He’s also been a disaster on the other end of the court (-1.5 defensive plus-minus). The Lakers might simply want to see if they can flip Reaves when first eligible on January 15 in order to preserve some value.
In this scenario, Reaves heads to Memphis in a deal for a defensive-minded veteran point guard. Smart would be an absolutely ideal fit with Russell in the backcourt. The 2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year is also averaging a league-best 2.6 steals per game. With him on the perimeter and Anthony Davis acting the part of a DPOY candidate inside, the Lakers’ defense would improve leaps and bounds.
Los Angeles Lakers mortgage the future in blockbuster trade
- Lakers get: Zach LaVine, Andre Drummond
- Bulls get: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, 2029 1st-round pick, 3 2nd-round picks, 2 picks swaps
Whether this would be enough to even entice the Bulls remains to be seen. They have set the asking price for LaVine at multiple first-round picks and a young player. In this scenario, they don’t get either. Instead, Chicago picks up an unprotected first-round pick in 2029, three second-round picks and two valuable pick swaps.
In return, the Lakers add that third star to go with James and Davis that they have been coveting. LaVine, 28, is averaging 25.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists on 39% shooting from distance since the start of the 2019-20 season.
Sure, depth would be impacted. Los Angeles’ long-term future would be put into question. But desperate times calls for desperate measures. Adding LaVine would make Los Angeles legit NBA title contenders.