Grade the trade: Lakers go all-in on third star with proposed deal
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers roster for the 2023-24 season is mostly set in stone. As it currently stands, the purple and gold have 13 players on the roster with most of the rotation filled out. There are ancillary additions the team can make, but nothing huge.
The roster that starts the season is not always the roster that ends the season. Just look at last year. Los Angeles entered the season with an underwhelming roster headlined by a massive Russell Westbrook problem but finished the year with a solid young core that was younger.
The team has brought back most of that core this summer and has improved on it as well. Many think the Lakers are a legitimate title contender because of the moves made this offseason. That is exactly where the team wants to be.
The Los Angeles Lakers could still make a huge deadline trade, though.
While the roster is currently set in stone, the Lake Show has set itself up to pivot and make a big trade if need be. Heck, the team all but confirmed that D’Angelo Russell will be traded at some point with the contract he was given.
Los Angeles isn’t going to do anything until the deadline (or close to it). While that is a while away, there are a lot of interesting possibilities that are already looming on the horizon. There are several prominent names that the Lakers could trade for in January or February that would give the team a perceived big three.
Zach LaVine is one of those prominent names as he has ties to LA and a reason to want to play for the purple and gold. Depending on how the 2023-24 season shakes out, the Lake Show could theoretically make a trade for the all-star.
Let’s break down what that trade would theoretically look like and hand out some grades for both parties in action.