Late on Saturday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded potential Lakers trade target De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for potential Lakers target Keon Ellis. Then, on Sunday morning, the Portland Trail Blazers acquired sharpshooting wing Vit Krejci from the Atlanta Hawks for an expiring contract and two future second-round picks.
I don't want to be the guy who says "The Lakers should have made that deal" about every trade that goes down, but... Ellis and Krejci would have both been superb pickups for this Lakers roster. Ellis, of course, brings high-level point-of-attack defense and can change games with his defensive production.
That would have been a godsend for the Lakers' 25th-ranked defense. And Krejci (who many folks didn't even realize was on the trade block) would have immediately improved the team's 23rd-place ranking in made 3-pointers. Basically, three guys have now been traded in the past day who the Lakers would have loved to have on their roster.
Don't panic yet! We have a few days before the trade deadline buzzer, and the Lakers have plenty of time to make some moves. And they need to make some moves.
Lakers need to be proactive at trade deadline
Of course, fans in LA will always want to add star power. But that's not realistic this year — so adding talent around the edges of this roster is the best option for Rob Pelinka. Being proactive and asking around about guys who aren't overtly available for trade is how teams improve quickly. Unfortunately, guys don't always fall into the Lakers' lap like Luka Doncic did.
The Lakers aren't dead in the water because they didn't acquire Vit Krejci, for the record. There are tons of players who will be moved in the next few days, and there's still plenty of chances for the front office to shore up some of the problems this team has.
But that trade is a great example of the moves the Lakers should explore in the next five days leading up to the deadline. Ask about productive, low-cost players and give up future assets if necessary. Some nights, it might not feel like the Lakers are on the precipice of competing for an NBA title, but this team is still just three games out of the No. 2 seed in the West and has been without a star player for weeks now. It won't take that much for this team to look a whole lot different in a few weeks.