The Los Angeles Lakers have not gotten out to the start that the team, or the fans, were expecting and that will probably cause the team to be active during the season. Rob Pelinka has never been shy in trying to make improvements where he can and LeBron James-led teams are notorious for shuffling pieces around at the trade deadline.
That being said, the Lakers’ hands are tied and there are not many opportunities for the team to improve. The salary cap is very restricted because of Russell Westbrook’s contract. Pelinka does not have very many contracts to trade.
The most tradeable contract is Talen Horton-Tucker’s, which is worth just under $10 million. We broke down seven potential THT trade packages and whether or not the Lakers can do them but with his potential, the team might not be interested at all in moving him.
Plus, THT is arguably the team’s best perimeter defender and the last thing they need to do is trade away defense. The Lakers are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and they should be looking to add defense, not subtract it.
Luckily for the Los Angeles Lakers, there are cheap defensive trade targets available.
The Los Angeles Lakers are not going to get a defensive wizard that reinvents the wheel but they certainly can get someone for a cheap price that can make a positive impact. Alongside the contracts that the Lakers can trade, they also have a $2.7 million trade exception that they received by trading Marc Gasol. That will help.
There are two uber-cheap options that stand out the most as they will not cost much in assets nor require a big salary to be sent in return.
1. Maurice Harkless
The Los Angeles Lakers may have made a mistake by trading for Russell Westbrook instead of trading for Buddy Hield but the team can make it up by trying to trade for a decent defender in Maurice Harkless.
While the Kings are not going to want to help their Southern California rival get better, this is such a small package that the Kings would be silly to talk themselves out of getting an asset for Harkless, who is not raising the ceiling of that team at all.
Harkless signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Kings prior to the season so the Lakers would not only get a defensive addition this season, but would get someone that rolls over to next season. All the Lakers need to match is $4.5 million in salary, which with the trade exception, means the Lakers can trade one minimum player for Harkless.
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The Kings obviously are not going to take a Kent Bazemore for Maurice Harkless swap as that adds nothing to the team. The best-case scenario would be Harkless having no market whatsoever and the Lakers trading a minimum contract with a future second-round pick for Harkless.
If Harkless does have a market, it might take Austin Reaves or even Kendrick Nunn. If Nunn was traded then the Lakers could save the trade exception for another deal as well.
Harkless should not have much of a market as he is shooting terribly from beyond the arc this season. While that might seem to be a bad thing, the Lakers need more defense, not more shooters who cannot defend. He will naturally shoot better with LeBron James on the court and more importantly, will bring much better defense.
2. Torrey Craig
Torrey Craig is another player who is struggling offensively this season and that could allow the Los Angeles Lakers to strike while the iron is hot and get him for a small package. Craig is on a very similar contract as Harkless as he signed a two-year, $10 million deal before this season. He is making $4.8 million this season.
The Lakers can still match that salary up with one veteran minimum contract and the trade exception. Like Harkless, there is a very good chance that Craig does not have much of a market and that the 9-15 Indiana Pacers take a second-round pick and some salary relief for next season for Craig.
Craig is only shooting 28% from beyond the arc this season, which seems like an instant red flag for the Lakers. But once again, the team over-corrected and added too much shooting this past offseason. The team needs defense. They are not going to get away with playing Malik Monk and Wayne Ellington together in the playoffs. They will get exposed defensively and it will be ugly.
Craig is a solid defender who could be maximized by Frank Vogel on the Lakers. We have seen Vogel elevate average and slightly-above-average defenders into valuable assets defensively. Just look how much Kyle Kuzma’s defense is missed and he was not even that good defensively.
If Craig turns it around offensively, which is very possible, then that is an added plus. He is not someone who is going to wow anyone, but as someone who can provide 16 solid minutes off the bench, Craig is a solid option at this price point.