The Los Angeles Lakers could explore a two-for-one consolidation trade involving Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy, while Bronny James appears safer and less likely to be moved.

The Los Angeles Lakers could explore a consolidation trade to solve their roster crunch before the start of the 2026-27 season, according to NBA reporter Jovan Buha.

Buha noted that he expects Los Angeles to explore a trade before considering waiving a player, with a two-for-one deal being the most straightforward solution.

“I think the Lakers are gonna explore a trade,” Buha said on the latest Buha’s Block episode. “They’re gonna try to do some sort of either dump a player somewhere or a consolidation trade. But if they can’t and it comes down to waiving someone, my prediction would be Dalton Knecht is the one that gets waived.”

Later in the episode, when specifically asked for intel on what type of trade the Lakers could make to trim their roster, Buha expanded on the possible framework.

“My understanding is consolidation trade. Obviously, it would be two-for-one, three-for-one, or three-for-two is a little more complicated,” Buha said. “So I think the most straightforward one would be two-for-one.

“And depending on the configuration of the trade, it could be a version of two of the back-end guys, let’s say Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy, for a backup center,” he went on to say.

“I would say Dalton and Hardy are probably the two guys they’re looking to get off of,” Buha added. “If they can’t, then they have to waive one of them. And I think at this point, Hardy is more established. He’s previously played with Luka on that Finals team in 2024, and I think Dalton would be the one that gets waived.”

Buha’s assessment aligns with recent comments from ClutchPoints insider Brett Siegel, who also identified the 25-year-old Knecht and 24-year-old Hardy as two players under pressure.

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Bronny James also mentioned as possible trade piece

The son of LeBron James was also mentioned in a hypothetical trade discussion, although Buha did not report that Los Angeles is actively shopping him.

“If you swapped Knecht and Hardy or Knecht and Bronny, or Bronny – some combination, like two of those three guys – for Jericho Sims, now your roster, you have another center in the mix, and you have a little bit more confidence in the non-Looney option,” Buha said.

Buha clarified that Sims was used only as a hypothetical example.

“In terms of names, I haven’t really heard any specific names,” Buha underlined. “I know there are names that were reported over the offseason, like Sims, like Karlo Matkovic… but not really. It’s been a little bit more quiet.”

“The goal at a minimum would be a better player than the outgoing players, but ideally addressing one of the positions of need, which the most obvious one is the center spot,” he added.

Nevertheless, Buha views Bronny James as safer than Knecht or Hardy.

“I think if the Lakers were cutting or trading Bronny, it likely would have happened already,” Buha said. “The fact that he’s on the roster… he’s probably in that group of players that are quote-unquote safe.”

On top of that, coach JJ Redick recently praised Bronny as a “good basketball player” and said the Lakers are excited to coach him as he enters his third NBA season.

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LA insider questions Knecht’s future with Lakers

The Lakers agreed in February 2025 to send Knecht, Cam Reddish, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, and a 2030 first-round pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams.

Los Angeles later rescinded the trade after Williams failed his physical, sending Knecht back to the Lakers.

As a result, Buha views the wing as the most likely player to leave Los Angeles, noting that his body language at the team’s media day on Monday was not promising either.

“I would say Dalton did not have the most positive body language,” Buha said. “Maybe he just has a giant chip on his shoulder, and I would not blame him if he does.”

“Dalton was, like, sinking into the chair, shoulders slumped, giving few-word answers. It just wasn’t the best vibes with Dalton. So, he right now would be my pick for the player who’s not on the team, whether that’s being traded or waived.”

“I think clearly his confidence has been affected to some degree by being traded and rescinded, then also being dangled basically from that point in trade talks,” Buha continued.

“I just don’t see the pathway for Dalton to have a real spot in the rotation. And if that’s the case, I think for both sides, honestly, it’s time to just cut bait and move on.”

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