Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Trades to help them beat the Clippers and Bucks

The Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference, but LeBron James and company are a combined 0-3 against the Clippers and the Bucks. We’ll explore three realistic trades that will help the Lakers beat their two fiercest competitors in the playoffs.

Current reports assert that Rob Pelinka is willing to trade anyone on the Los Angeles Lakers roster not named LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That means Pelinka also understands that even though the Lakers sit atop the West, LA needs to add one more playmaker to run the team when LeBron sits. Plus, a third legitimate scoring threat would stop squads like the Clippers and Bucks from sending multiple defenders at James and grinding him down throughout a long seven-game playoffs series.

Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale recently wrote:

"“[The Philadelphia 76ers] were outscored by 109 points in the 99 minutes Joel Embiid spent on the bench during the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The time they played without him cost them that seven-game series. James won’t watch from the sidelines for nearly as long as Embiid, but the point stands. The Lakers have to worry about how they fare without him. So far, the returns aren’t great. Los Angeles is getting outscored by 1.9 points per 100 possessions when James sits with an offensive rating that falls in the 57th percentile.”"

Rob Pelinka is ready to trade anyone outside of the Lakers dynamic duo. Still, in reality, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, and Rajon Rondo will likewise remain on the team after the trade deadline because they each have de facto no-trade clauses because of the type of contracts they signed with the Lakers.

Up next, we’ll discuss three practical trades that would land the Lakers an impact playmaker without including any untradeable players.

Note: All the trades listed are valid in ESPN’s trade machine.