Star player all but confirms Lakers will trade for him during season
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2023-24 season with a strong roster that had fans excited about the potential of the team. This is by far the best roster the team has had since winning the 2020 championship and it makes the Lakers one of the premier title contenders in the league.
That being said, after over one week of action it is clear that this is not a perfect roster. There are areas of the roster that can definitely be improved, especially considering the landscape of the Western Conference is getting tougher and tougher.
Rob Pelinka has proven that he is not afraid to make changes at the deadline. If there is an improvement on the table for the purple and gold he is going to make that improvement. It just has to make sense for the team.
Luckily, a star player who makes a lot of sense for the Lake Show all but confirmed that he will be traded to Los Angeles this season by who he just hired to be his new agent.
Malcolm Brogdon signs with Klutch, all but confirms he will be traded to Lakers
For those who are unaware, Klutch Sports is the same agency that represents LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Klutch very much has had influence over the decisions the Lakers have made since LeBron came to town. Fans just have to look at the several Klutch clients the team signed during the 2022 offseason as a perfect example.
Malcolm Brogdon is someone who is already going to be floating around the trade market. Portland has no real reason to keep him for the rest of the year with only one more year under contract and is going to look to get something for him at the deadline.
With Rich Paul pulling the strings behind the curtain, the Blazers may do Brogdon and Klutch a favor in order to get that favor repaid in the future. After all, Jerami Grant is a Klutch client and if Portland ever wants to get off that contract with a trade they might have to do Brogdon a favor first to get buy-in from Grant to help facilitate a deal.
Regardless, Brogdon is going to be shopped and he makes a lot of sense for the Lakers. Gabe Vincent has been very disappointing thus far while Max Christie has not even been part of the roster. Los Angeles would benefit greatly from adding another talented guard who could not only come off the bench but close in games if he had to.
Brogdon is making $22.5 million this season, so obtaining him via trade is very doable. A package of D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino and some kind of draft capital would work at the deadline.
If the team didn’t want to go in that direction, it could package Vincent with JHS and Taurean Prince to make the money work. Either way, the Lakers have multiple directions to take to make a Brogdon trade work.
And by signing with Klutch, Brogdon himself might be spoiling the eventual trade.