Even though Anthony Davis is injured and will be out for at least a month, the Los Angeles Lakers may still look to make a trade to improve the team before the deadline. After all, an impactful trade could help keep the Lakers afloat while AD is injured. Once he comes back, the team could be an actual contender.
The only problem is that the Lakers do not have many assets to trade. The primary trade chips that Los Angeles has are Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn. Both are on expiring contracts, have been disappointing, and don’t have much trade value.
Los Angeles would have to attach at least a protected first-round pick to move the pair of players. If the team is going to do that, they have to be sure that they are getting a truly impactful player in return.
One truly impactful player on the trade market that would be great in Los Angeles is Toronto’s OG Anunoby. The Raptors are not playing well this season and as an expiring contract, Anunoby is a prime trade candidate. Any hope of trading for Anunoby was dashed by ESPN’s Zach Lowe on ‘The Lowe Post’ as he explained the perceived market and price for the 25-year-old forward.
“The entire league wants OG Anunoby. Everybody wants OG Anunoby. If he ever gets traded, the price and picks are going to surprise people because it might be on par almost with what the Cavs gave up for Donovan Mitchell”
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 20, 2022
- ESPN’s Zach Lowe pic.twitter.com/LyxYZuEfCT
The Los Angeles Lakers cannot afford to trade for OG Anunoby.
Last I checked, the Los Angeles Lakers did not have enough to trade for Donovan Mitchell. If the price is going to be nearly the same (as absurd as that sounds), then the Lakers are not going to be close to getting a deal done.
In reality, it is hard to see the Raptors getting the kind of return that Mitchell warranted when Anunoby is on an expiring deal. However, the price could certainly still be out of the Lakers’ price range with how much interest he is garnering.
The absolute best-case package that the Lakers could offer for Anunoby would be Beverley, Nunn and two unprotected first-round picks. And to be fair, that is probably the best offer the Raptors would get as those picks are extremely valuable with the current direction of the Lakers franchise.
However, Los Angeles would never make that trade. If they are not willing to trade those two picks to offload Russell Westbrook then they are not going to trade them for Anunoby. As talented as the young wing is, that would be asset malpractice.
Realistically, the most the Lakers can afford to offer is a protected future first-round pick and that is simply not going to be enough. There are teams with more assets, both in picks form and in young players, that can blow that offer out of the water and can afford to do so.
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So while seeing Anunoby in purple and gold would be great, it simply is not in the realm of possibility.