The 42-33 Los Angeles Lakers are the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference, holding onto a Play-In spot by 3.5 games as of April 2.
It’s been an up-and-down season, shown by their record, but the Lakers have played well recently, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. While this season is far from over, this can be an important offseason for the franchise.
A proposed trade from Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report lands the Lakers three-time All-Star Trae Young.
The deal, which involves the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, and Minnesota Timberwolves, has many moving parts.
The Warriors would receive Karl-Anthony Towns, Rui Hachimura, and Garrison Mathews.
The Hawks would receive Draymond Green, D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Wendell Moore Jr., a 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers, and a 2031 top-five-protected first-round pick from the Lakers.
Austin Reaves would head to the Timberwolves, including Chris Paul, Trayce Jackson-Davis, a 2025 second-round pick from Atlanta from Minnesota, a 2026 first-round pick from Golden State, and a top-five protected 2028 first-round pick from Golden State.
The Lakers would land Young, Josh Minott, and Gui Santos.
They’d lose Reaves, Russell, Hachimura, Hood-Schifino, a 2029 first-round pick, and a top-five-protected 2031 first-round pick.
It’s a massive price to pay, but one they could be willing to do to land Young.
The 25-year-old point guard is averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 assists, and shooting 37.1% from three-point range on the season.
The Lakers Are Looking for a Third Star This Offseason
The Los Angeles Lakers decided to not make a move during the NBA Trade deadline, a decision that allowed them to have better assets during the offseason to find a third star.
LeBron James will enter his age 40 season next year and could hit the free agent market this offseason.
Making a blockbuster deal similar to this one would show him that the front office is committed to winning.
Young, offensively, has been talented enough to lead a team, as evident by his 25.6 points per game average in his career.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic did a Q&A on March 29, saying the Lakers are interested in finding a third star.
“Yes, they are [going after a third star]. And I can confirm that from multiple sources.
They are going third-star hunting this offseason. And we’ll see how that affects the D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell) situation. We’ll see how — you probably have to give up Austin [Reaves] in almost any…third-star trade.
“… Now, who’s available? The one name I continually hear is Trae Young. He’s been to Lakers playoff games before. He’s a Klutch Sports client. That’s probably the most realistic one right now. What happens with Dallas and Kyrie [Irving]? Do they flame out? Do they lose in the play-in? Do they lose in round one? Does Dallas ultimately break that up? And then what’s the market for Kyrie?”
Anthony Davis Can Help Young Defensively
Young, a 2021-22 All-NBA selection, isn’t known for his defense.
While it can become an issue for the Los Angeles Lakers, Bailey believes Anthony Davis can help young defensively.
“Young clearly has defensive issues, but Anthony Davis could help cover up some of those. And over the last five seasons, the Hawks playmaker has averaged 27.2 points, 9.9 assists and 2.8 made threes per game.”
Davis is a three-time block champion and has been named to four NBA All-Defensive teams.
He’d have to make up for what Young lacks on defense but can succeed with him offensively as Young has averaged over 9.3 assists in every season outside of his rookie year.
