Los Angeles Lakers: 2 trade scenarios that could help secure the future

The Lakers trade LeBron to the Raptors for P. Siakam, OG Anunoby, F VanVleet, and S. Ibaka

The Lakers Perspective: The Lakers would be getting four very good players in this deal. Siakam is the best player you’ve never heard of in the NBA and he’s only making $1.5 million over the next two years.

OG is 21 years old and in his 2nd year. He’s a young player with a lot of potential on a small rookie contract. VanVleet is only 24 years old and he’s one of the best backup PG’s in the NBA. Serge Ibaka is still only 29 years old and he’s a very good center.

The reason this deal isn’t as good as the 76ers deal is that while the Lakers would be getting four good rotation players, they’d wouldn’t be getting an All-Star in the deal. If the Lakers were to make a deal like this, they’d still have enough money over the summer to land a max free-agent and Magic and Pelinka would be banking on the fact that they could convince either Leonard or Durant to join the Purple and Gold.

If Durant did sign with the Lakers over the summer here’s what the team would like:

Starters:

• PG: Ball
• SG: Siakam
• SF: Durant
• PF: Kuzma
• C: Ibaka

Bench:

• VanVleet
• Hart
• Ingram
• OG
• Zubac

This lineup is young, deep, and talented. The could easily win a championship next year with this group of players.

The Raptors Perspective: It is very similar to the 76ers perspective. A trio of LeBron, Leonard, and Lowry would almost guarantee the Raptors a trip to the finals this year.

Final Thoughts:

Trading away a great player like LeBron James obviously comes with a lot of risks. There’s no guarantee the Lakers can lure a true superstar like Durant or Kawhi to the team during the summer.

There’s also a large risk in the Lakers banking on an aging superstar to continue to play at a top-5 level over the next 3 and a half years. No player, not even LeBron, can play well forever.