Los Angeles Lakers’ potential trade target: Dennis Smith Jr.
The New York Knicks have a surplus of guards and as a result, promising young guard, Dennis Smith Jr, has received the brunt end of the stick and has not received the playing time that he should be getting. Smith, despite being a key asset in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, only averaged 15.8 minutes per game.
With the Knicks being at the bottom of the league in a draft class that has a few exciting guards at the top, there is a chance that Smith could see even less playing time and not be a part of the Knicks’ future plans.
In fact, the Knicks reportedly nearly traded Smith at the trade deadline, so there is already a precedent for that being a possibility.
Smith would be a very exciting trade addition by the Los Angeles Lakers. While he has fallen off a bit in New York, he has already shown how explosive and versatile he is and could slot in perfectly as the Lakers’ traditional point guard who is also the secondary ball-handler behind LeBron James.
The team needs to move on from Rajon Rondo and instead of bringing in another cheap veteran, the Lakers could get more out of someone who is still on their rookie contract, such as Smith.
Personally, I would be willing to flip Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker for Smith. I think the ceiling is higher with Smith and the Lakers can easily replace Kuzma, especially if they keep Morris around.
The contracts are essentially the same in terms of length and the Lakers might even be able to sign Smith to an extension beforehand at a cheaper rate because of his reduced play in New York.