The Los Angeles Lakers look like a team in need of a blockbuster shake-up trade (at least defensively). It doesn't sound like it'll happen before the Feb. 5 deadline.
NBA insider Jake Fischer appeared on a live stream on Jan. 6 and reported that the Lakers aren't expected to make a splashy move but might target minimum-contract guys if anything.
Fischer did mention that the Lakers don't see Deandre Ayton as their long-term center, but he said that general manager Rob Pelinka will wait until the offseason to make a serious upgrade. Ayton hasn't been the difference-maker that the Lakers need at center, and Deandre only made things worse recently by suggesting that he deserves more touches.
Lakers don't have any real trade assets to formulate a blockbuster deal
If you look at the rest of LA's roster outside of Ayton, it begins to make sense that Pelinka isn't gearing up for any big moves this month. We know that Luka Doncic is untouchable, and assuming that LeBron James and Austin Reaves are in the same category, the only salary of considerable size that Pelinka could ostensibly use in a big trade is Rui Hachimura's $18.3 million expiring.
Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) are also expiring. Is any combo of Hachimura, Vincent, and Kleber going to bring in something of real value to the Lakers that would improve their title chances right now?
The answer is no, even if Pelinka was willing to throw in some draft capital.
Jarred Vanderbilt's $37.3 million across three seasons (2025-26 through a player option in 2027-28) is a valuable contract that plenty of teams would be interested in, but the Lakers really should hold onto Vanderbilt, especially given their defensive issues.
Without any clear pathway to a roster upheaval before the deadline, the Lakers are faced with a simple truth: LA will go as far as Luka, LeBron, and Reaves take them. JJ Redick needs to fix the defensive crisis using the players he already has.
No one is arriving from the outside to save the Lakers. The task at hand involves working with the pieces in place and transforming into a more robust defensive basketball team between now and the postseason.
The Lakers shouldn't ever have trouble scoring. That's the reason Pelinka went out and acquired Doncic in the most famous trade in NBA history before last year's deadline. This year, deadline season will be quiet in LA, but the Lakers defense must become louder, more desperate, and grittier ... starting now.