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Lakers still pushing to acquire a familiar trade target

SALT LAKE CITY UT- NOVEMBER 7: Darvin Ham head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers arrives at the locker room before their game against the Utah Jazz at the Vivint Arena November 7, 2022 in Salt Lake City Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Chris Gardner/ Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY UT- NOVEMBER 7: Darvin Ham head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers arrives at the locker room before their game against the Utah Jazz at the Vivint Arena November 7, 2022 in Salt Lake City Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Chris Gardner/ Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers need all the help that they can get this season with the team getting off to an awful 3-10 start. If it was not for Dyson Daniels and a miracle Matt Ryan buzzer-beater, this Lakers team would be 2-11. Regardless, the New Orleans Pelicans still like their chances of getting a top pick in 2023.

While the odds of a Russell Westbrook trade have shrunk dramatically, the Lakers could still look to make other trades to improve the roster. After all, there are other players that LA can include in a trade as the season continues.

The NBA trade market has not fully developed yet and there are going to be a lot of players that are available in January that are not currently available in November. That being said, there is already an early inclination of who might be dealt and who the Lakers might be interested in.

One of the players that the team is reportedly interested in is someone who they checked on in the offseason, Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic was ultimately traded to the Detroit Pistons but with his strong play and lack of results for Detroit, NBA fans could see him on the move again.

Bogdanovic is certainly increasing his trade value with his strong play for the Pistons, who will get more out of him in the long run if they trade him before the deadline. But that raises the question: is it even possible for the Lakers to trade for Bogdanovic?

What a Lakers Bojan Bogdanovic trade would look like:

This would not be a Russell Westbrook trade. Instead, the team would have to put together two other contracts to make this work. The deal would be centered around the duo of Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn, both of whom are disappointing this season.

The problem with that is that those two have no real value to Detroit. The team could throw Max Christie in the deal as a young asset but even he doesn’t have much value. At the end of the day, the Pistons have to get more for Bogdanovic than they sent out.

Detroit traded Kelly Olynyk, Saban Lee and cash to Utah for Bogdanovic. That offer might not be hard to beat, but with other contending teams in the market for the three-point shooting that Bogdanovic has, Los Angeles would almost certainly have to include draft capital (and not of the second-round variety).

Los Angeles would almost certainly have to trade a pick swap to the Detroit Pistons in order to get Bogdanovic. Perhaps since the Pistons have consistently been a bad team this is something that the front office would be willing to do, but it would still be a mistake.

The Lakers are not really in a position to be trading draft picks for role players. Sure, Bogdanovic would be a huge addition that would add a much-needed dynamic to this football team but he is not worth a first-round pick with how bad the Lakers are playing.

Unfortunately, this is the likely asking price for the sharpshooting NBA veteran, so the Lakers might as well count themselves out unless they pull off some kind of three-team trade magic.

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