![\"Peyton](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2247954916-e1770113127725.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Peyton Watson during a game against the Houston Rockets in November 2025<\/p>\n
As the February 5 trade deadline approaches, the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have long been tipped to be searching for wing upgrades to round out the roster.<\/p>\n Adding a young, dependable 3-and-D option has been viewed as a clear priority for general manager Rob Pelinka, with a steady stream of names linked<\/a> to Los Angeles in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Jonathan Kuminga, Miles Bridges<\/a>, Andrew Wiggins<\/a>, Saddiq Bey, Naji Marshall<\/a>, De\u2019Andre Hunter, and Keon Ellis have all surfaced in varying degrees of trade chatter.<\/p>\n Hunter and Ellis were recently both taken off the board after being moved in the same multi-team deal between the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> and Sacramento Kings<\/a>, further narrowing the Lakers\u2019 options with only days remaining until the deadline.<\/p>\n Lakers Facing Shrinking Wing Market<\/p>\n Los Angeles continues to sift through what has become a thin wing market, while also dealing with limited interest in its own trade assets.<\/p>\n Complicating matters further, the Lakers currently control just one tradable first-round pick.<\/p>\n As has been widely reported<\/a>, the front office has been structuring potential deals around expiring contracts, Rui Hachimura<\/a> ($18.2 million), Gabe Vincent<\/a> ($11.5 million), and Maxi Kleber<\/a> ($11 million), along with second-year guard Dalton Knecht.<\/p>\n Even so, those pieces have yet<\/a> to generate meaningful traction around the league.<\/p>\n NBA insider Jake Fischer<\/a> believes the Lakers\u2019 failed pursuit of Ellis is a \u201cfurther indicator\u201d that Pelinka is not operating aggressively enough to land preferred targets before the deadline.<\/p>\n Instead, Fischer suggests Los Angeles is prioritizing long-term flexibility over short-term upgrades.<\/p>\n That approach is tied to the Lakers\u2019 projected cap outlook. According to Spotrac\u2019s Keith Smith<\/a>, Los Angeles could have more than $55 million in available cap space this summer, a figure the organization appears reluctant to compromise.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lakers do not want to just trade for a guy like De\u2019Andre Hunter<\/a>, who\u2019s got future salary,\u201d Fischer said during a livestream on Monday. \u201cThey do not just want to add a Michael Porter<\/a> Jr., who\u2019s got future salary and also pay draft capital to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think the Lakers are going to be more patient, look more on the edges, and find something that would help them improve without really sending out too much of a major haul.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking Beyond the Deadline<\/p>\n Bleacher Report\u2019s Dan Favale<\/a> has urged the Lakers to explore low-cost addition<\/a>s such as Cavaliers wing Dean Wade and Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III.<\/p>\n Still, signs continue to point towards Pelinka keeping his focus on the offseason rather than forcing a deadline move.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lakers want to prioritize their cap space flexibility for this summer, where there will be young wings like Peyton Watson, Bennedict Mathurin, Tari Eason<\/a> from Houston\u2014other potential opportunities to add on the wing in between Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves<\/a> and Deandre Ayton<\/a>,\u201d Fischer added.<\/p>\n Watson, Mathurin, and Eason are all slated to be restricted free agents this summer, meaning their current teams would have the right to match any offer sheets. As a result, their availability is far from guaranteed.<\/p>\n Watson, in particular, would represent a significant get. The Denver Nuggets<\/a> wing is enjoying a career-best season, averaging 21.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 46.5% from three-point range throughout January.<\/p>\n The Lakers sit sixth in a crowded Western Conference at 29-19, level with the Phoenix Suns<\/a> in seventh and firmly within the play-in mix.<\/p>\n Wing help remains a clear need if Los Angeles hopes to maximize the current window alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even so, it remains increasingly plausible that Pelinka opts for restraint at the deadline, or makes only a marginal move, before shifting his full attention to a more flexible and potentially impactful summer.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMatt Evans<\/a> is a sports journalist from the United Kingdom, based in Paris, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA and wider global sport. More about Matt Evans<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Peyton Watson during a game against the Houston Rockets in November 2025 As the February 5 trade…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6],"class_list":["post-579451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-lakers","tag-basketball","tag-la","tag-la-lakers","tag-lakers","tag-lalakers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleslakers","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116006601194946570","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}