The Los Angeles Lakers can go in one or two of several directions this summer when it comes to upgrading their roster around Luka Doncic and LeBron James. They certainly need plenty of help at the center position, but they also need some help at the guard and wing spots.
They could either try to land a borderline star at the center position or go with two serviceable players at that position. At the same time, some have opined that they need a better third option than guard Austin Reaves, who continues to get better but is a weak defender and lacks athleticism.
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Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report proposed a bold and creative trade that would give the Lakers star frontcourt player Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz in exchange for forward Rui Hachimura, wing Dalton Knecht, guard Gabe Vincent, big man Maxi Kleber and an unprotected 2031 first-round draft pick.
Via Bleacher Report:
“Markkanen is probably the best level of player Los Angeles can reasonably acquire and would be a strong third option behind Dončić and LeBron James,” Swartz wrote.
“Adding a 7-footer who can play either forward position and fill short bursts as a stretch-5 gives the Lakers a ton of versatility with their lineups and helps an offense that ranked 12th out of 16 teams this postseason.
“This trade would leave the Lakers with a core of Dončić, Austin Reaves, Markkanen, James, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt. Los Angeles would still have the taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.7 million to try to sign a veteran like Brook Lopez, Clint Capela, Steven Adams or Al Horford to fill their hole at center and complete a loaded starting five.”
Markkanen, who just turned 28 years of age, averaged 19.0 points and 5.9 rebounds a game this season. Although he shot just 42.3% from the field and 34.6% from 3-point range this season, he shot 47.9% overall and 38.7% from downtown while averaging 19.6 points per game in the previous four campaigns. He had been named to the All-Star team in 2023.
He wouldn’t do much, if anything, to upgrade L.A.’s defense or rebounding. But the seven-footer is the type of lob threat Doncic has had success playing with in the past, and he could space the floor for both Doncic and James.
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This trade could then open up the possibility of using Reaves, whom some feel the Lakers should trade, as an asset to use on the trade market to upgrade the team’s perimeter defense, speed and athleticism.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Bold trade idea gives Lakers seven-foot frontcourt All-Star