Amid a turbulent offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers are still heading toward the 2026-27 season with the look of a team who can compete in the West. The question for them has to be just how big that gap is between them and the powerhouses in the conference.
Last season, an undermanned Lakers team was swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Would Luka Doncic's availability have changed that result? Probably. Enough to swing the series completely? Tough to imagine.
After getting notified that LeBron James would spend the upcoming season elsewhere, the Lakers went all-in on completely retooling around Doncic. The premature verdicts on those changes have been polarizing.
Whether the Lakers prove themselves as elite off the bat, or a work in progress, keeping an eye on the trade market will remain important all the same. Rebuilding teams will always be easy to work with, but who are the teams Los Angeles should want to turn into sellers by the 2027 deadline?
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are the Chicago Bulls of the West, in the sense that they hold on to their players for way past the peak of their value despite everything around them saying they should be sellers. Perhaps the franchise will finally have a much-needed epiphany in 2026-27.
There are several players who could be helpful for a contender that are stuck on the Pelicans roster. The bad news for the Lakers is, after this offseason, chasing a big name like Trey Murphy may be out of the question, barring giving up a big-time player of their own.
Despite that, perhaps someone closer to Saddiq Bey or Yves Missi could be available for a gettable price. Maybe in a best-case scenario, the asking price for Herb Jones comes down, too. When the Pelicans fall behind in the West once more, their situation is more than worth monitoring.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets should also be a team who the Lakers would love to see fall apart by the trade deadline. On top of seeing one less contender in the West, Los Angeles would have a handful of players to poke around on.
Need an upgrade at the backup big man spot? Steven Adams or Clint Capela could both be interesting.
More ambitiously, maybe the get-in price for Tari Eason is manageable. The Rocket secured him on an incredibly team-friendly deal this summer. After Jan. 15, his contract is tradeable and should look very desirable to outside suitors, including the Lakers, who could want an upgrade at forward.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics looked at Jaylen Brown this offseason and told themselves they were good. Instead of landing the big prize of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Celtics stood their ground on not sweetening their offer and pivoted to Paul George when their pursuit failed. What a summer.
Many will expect Boston to take a bit of a step back in 2026-27. The question is: How big is that decline in a reloaded Eastern Conference?
If the Celtics are barely hanging around by the midway point of the season, do they go all-in or do they sell? If the answer is the latter, there are several cheap role players available on the roster who could be of intrigue for the Lakers. Maybe there is even some thought given to swinging for the fences with a Derrick White trade.
These two teams do no trade often, with the last instance coming in 2004. Given the right circumstances here, they could have reason to change that in 2026-27.
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