The metrics indicate that the Los Angeles Lakers are playing above their heads with a record of 15-5, which is good enough for second place in the Western Conference, and the team’s most obvious need is clear.
L.A. needs to find itself a 3-and-D threat who can maintain the offensive spacing necessary for Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to continue their All-Star offensive play and also even the score on the defensive side of the court. As it turns out, the Lakers already have a specific player in mind.
“Herb Jones has been one of the most coveted two-way wings in the league, and the Pelicans have turned down multiple trade offers for him through the years,” Chris Dodson and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported Wednesday, Dec 3. “The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are among a handful of Western Conference contenders actively exploring ways to acquire Jones, league sources told ClutchPoints.”
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Jones, 27, inked a three-year extension in July that pays him $67.6 million total and keeps him under contract through 2029-30, which is a player option. Standing at 6-feet, 7-inches tall and weighing over 200 pounds, Jones is a rangy defender who can guard quicker players on the perimeter and bang on the inside if necessary.
He was a member of the All-NBA Defensive First Team two years ago and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Jones played in just 20 games last season due to a torn rotator cuff and thus didn’t qualify for any awards. However, he averaged 73.33 games played over his first three NBA campaigns and has generally been reliable from a health standpoint.
Jones shoots the 3-pointer at a career rate of 36.5 percent on just shy of three attempts per game, which is a good enough mark that opposing defenses won’t be able to ignore him in favor of crowding the paint to disrupt the creation of Doncic and Reaves. Jones is also a potential successor to LeBron James, who is still playing his way into shape after missing the early portion of the season due to sciatica and will turn 41 years old later this month.
New Orleans is in last place in the West at 3-19 and going nowhere fast, as Zion Williamson is out for at least the next several weeks with a leg injury. The team traded away its 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks with zero protections attached, so there is no benefit to trading Jones and tanking. That said, the Pelicans already have the worst record in the NBA, so dealing Jones for future assets makes some sense.
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