The Los Angeles Lakers might need a change over the next month. Currently 21-11 and No. 5 in the West, things appear to be going well on a macro level. But if you've been watching every Lakers game, you'll see the cracks start to emerge — mostly on the defensive end.
I'm not sure what Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office have planned for this year's deadline, but if Laker Nation had any say in those decisions, these three players would likely be on the move.
Deandre Ayton
The honeymoon phase has come to an anticlimactic end. Maybe Suns and Blazers fans were right all along. Ayton, after an exciting start in which he appeared to be the perfect center for this team, has reverted to his passive, timid, uninterested self.
Yes, he's massively talented. That's always been part of the frustration. Because he doesn't use his talents to actually contribute; he'll hit a few midrange, fadeaway jumpshots and remind everyone why he was the No. 1 pick in 2018, then refuse to box out for a rebound or get aggressive in the low post. Time is a flat circle, et cetera, et cetera.
Finding a trade partner for Ayton will be difficult because he's now on his third team and the exact same issues have been present at each stop. Any deal involving the 7-footer will basically require the Lakers tricking another front office into believing they can actually solve him. They can't, but nobody say that out loud.
Dalton Knecht
This isn't how this was supposed to go! Dalton Knecht stole Lakers' fans hearts in the first few months of his career, only to completely flatline after that. He was traded — then un-traded — to the Charlotte Hornets last year, and you can't blame a guy for mentally checking out after he's forced to return to a team that traded him.
I refuse to give up on Knecht; despite the defensive limitations, I still believe he has a place in the NBA. That place is probably not with the Lakers, though. He still looks somewhat lost on the court, and the shooting hasn't been good enough (34% 3PT this year) to justify regular minutes.
Knecht should still garner some interest around the league; the return package might not be thrilling, but he's only in his second season and the shooting upside will be enough to convince a team to take a chance on him.
Gabe Vincent
Theoretically, Vincent is the defensive-minded ballhandler who can provide secondary facilitation and shooting when the starters are on the bench. In reality, he hasn't been quite good enough as a shooter or ballhandler in his two-plus seasons with the Lakers.
Finding a trade partner for Vincent shouldn't be that hard; packaging him with Knecht (or Maxi Kleber) for a defensive-minded big man seems like a real possibility.
Vincent hasn't been woeful in LA, but the fit has always been a little clunky. I will not be surprised if he plays like the Vincent the Lakers thought they were getting once he heads to a new home. It just never quite panned out how the Lakers wanted it to.