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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 09: Derrick Jones Jr. #55 of the LA Clippers during play against the Houston Rockets in the second half at Intuit Dome on April 09, 2025 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
While all the recent trade rumors surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have been about adding a backup center, finding more wing depth, and perhaps a new starting power forward, that could also be on the table heading into the new season.<\/p>\n One name previously linked to the Lakers as a top trade target was Derrick Jones Jr.<\/a> of the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>, and though the rumors on him making a cross-town move had died down a bit over the past month, his name was recently brought up as an option for the franchise to go after.<\/p>\n Jones has previous experience playing with Luka Doncic<\/a>, and with his 3-and-D abilities, he could be the missing piece to the Lakers\u2019 starting lineup, should the Clippers decide moving him is the right move in the final year of his contract<\/a>, set to earn just over $10 million this season.<\/p>\n Lakers Linked Back To Derrick Jones Jr. In Trade Talk<\/p>\n \n Answering questions on a Reddit AMA<\/a>, Lakers reporter Dan Woike of The Athletic brought Jones\u2019 name back up as a realistic target for the franchise.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard the Clippers really value Derrick Jones Jr. as a player and behind the scenes, but if he were available, the Lakers would probably call and hope it turned out better than their last deal with LAC,\u201d Woike\u00a0said<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time the Lakers have had rumored interest in Jones, as during his time with the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>, he proved to be the exact type of player that fits with Doncic, and despite now being on the Clippers, he could be a trade target for the Purple and Gold if ever becoming available.<\/p>\n Earlier in the offseason, it was NBA<\/a> insider\u00a0Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints<\/a>\u00a0who reported that Jones is on the trade block.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have a roster crunch at this point,\u201d Siegel said in August. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be looking to dump some salary between now and training camp and start of the season\u2026We know that Derrick Jones Jr. is available in trade talks there for the Clippers.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lakers could desperately use someone like Jones, who averaged 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists on 49.9% shooting with the Clippers last year. His athleticism, defensive upside, and experience playing with Doncic make him a strong candidate to fill the Lakers\u2019 hole at the starting power forward position, if he does become available in a trade.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Could See 3-and-D Wing As \u2018Dream\u2019 Target<\/p>\n \n In response to some of the previous Jones trade rumors earlier in the summer,\u00a0Maxwell Odgen subsequently named<\/a>\u00a0the 29-year-old a \u2018dream outcome\u2019 and \u2018ultimate\u2019 trade target for the Lakers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dream outcome here would be for Derrick Jones Jr. to end up with the Lakers. Jones is an elite wing defender who excels at the point of attack, as well as a capable three-point shooter who played alongside Doncic when the\u00a0Mavericks<\/a>\u00a0made their run to the NBA Finals,\u201d he wrote. \u201cCompounded by his experience alongside Doncic, Jones is the ultimate trade target. It could prove costly to bring him on, but with an expiring contract and an ideal skill set for Los Angeles\u2019 system, it\u2019s at least worth exploring.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, LakeShowLife.com writer Svyatoslav Rovenchuk<\/a> urged the Lakers to go after Jones in a trade, as he could be the best option available to fill the power forward position and give the team some insurance on the defensive end of the floor with a player who doesn\u2019t need the ball in his hands to impact the game.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Los Angeles Lakers should view this moment with the opportunistic lens it calls for,\u201d he wrote on the team\u2019s chances of landing Jones in a deal with the Clippers. \u201cThe Lakers may not be overflowing with picks, but even a couple of second-rounders should look good to the miserable little brother in Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJones is also the type of low-maintenance offensive player that prioritizes the defensive end who would complete the starting five to perfection,\u201d Rovenchuk added. \u201cYou would have a harder time finding reasons not to pick up the phone right now, if you were the Lakers.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones offers the type of skill set the Lakers failed to land this summer with some of their other top trade targets, but if he does become available from the Clippers, despite what the price may be, adding the forward could be the perfect move for the franchise to upgrade at a position that is still a major question mark heading into the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tEli Gregorski<\/a> is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 09: Derrick Jones Jr. #55 of the LA Clippers during play against the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3789],"tags":[7,559,4034,192,4032,251,135,4033,4031,6],"class_list":["post-860639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-clippers","tag-basketball","tag-clippers","tag-la","tag-la-clippers","tag-laclippers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-clippers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesclippers","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117452440066060144","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860639","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=860639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lakers](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2262040163-e1785795755990.jpg\")
GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA \u2013 FEBRUARY 19: Derrick Jones Jr. #5 of the Los Angeles Clippers fouls Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets<\/a> on a three-point attempt with .09 left in the game at Intuit Dome on February 19, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Wally Skalij\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n![\"Los](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/derrick-jones-jr-dalton-knecht-trade-pitch-celtics-lakers-clippers.jpg\")
GettyDerrick Jones Jr. remains a top trade target for the Los Angeles Lakers.\n<\/p>\n