Lakers listed as a favorite to land prominent trade target
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers went from needing to make a trade to improve the roster to needing to make a trade to save the season. With Anthony Davis out for at least a month, the Lakers need to do whatever it takes to keep the 2022-23 season from going underwater.
There has been recent speculation regarding all-star Zach LaVine that has brought a lot of excitement to Los Angeles. With his situation in Chicago unraveling, we could see LaVine become the next disgruntled star that forces his way out. If so, the Lakers will be calling with Russell Westbrook and picks.
That is the best-case scenario for the Lakers but that cannot be the only scenario that the team prepares for. Los Angeles must also consider the alternative options, ones that do not include Russ and see the team landing smaller role players instead.
One of the most intriguing players on the trade market is Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr. And better yet for Lakers fans, Los Angeles has been listed among the favorites to land Trent via trade this season.
What would a Lakers trade for Gary Trent Jr. look like?
Gary Trent Jr. carries a $17.2 million cap hit this season and has a player option for next season worth $18.5 million. To make the money work in regard to the NBA’s trade rules, Los Angeles would have to package both Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn in the trade.
Those two point guards have no real value outside of being expiring contracts, which is not relevant in this case for the Raptors. Thus, the Lakers would have to attach one of the few assets they actually have.
If the Lakers are going to trade for Gary Trent Jr. they are absolutely going to have to send a first-round pick to Toronto to make it happen. In a perfect world, the Lakers could attach some decent protections to give themselves insurance in case they have a high selection in 2027.
That being said, the Raptors can most likely get a better package than this from other teams in the Trent market. For the Laker to win a potential Trent bidding war, the team would likely have to make the pick unprotected, which is simply too much to ask.
Trent is a solid role player but Los Angeles is not in a position to trade one of its few valuable assets for someone who realistically is not going to move the bar that much for this team. At this point, Los Angeles should be saving both picks in the case an all-star trade does become available.
So while they might be listed among the favorites, I would not expect the Los Angeles Lakers to make a trade for Gary Trent Jr. this season.