The Los Angeles Lakers proved with the team's In-Season Tournament win that they are good enough to beat any team in the league and absolutely should be viewed as premier title contenders. The depth of the roster with the size the Lakers can throw at teams is a real problem.
While Los Angeles looks great right now, it should not stop the front office from potentially making any changes. It is the job of every contending team to try and improve at every turn, which will include the trade market this season.
The Lakers already appear to be gearing up for the trade deadline and have their sights set on several teams. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, there are five teams that he Lakers are already monitoring in the hopes of a potential fire sale.
"They’re [Lakers] still evaluating their needs and will continue to monitor the league, including potential fire sales in Toronto, Washington, Utah, Brooklyn and/or Charlotte that could make useful rotation players available."
Each of those teams present different opportunities, and they all have best-case scenario trades that the Lakers could make.
The best trade the Lakers can make with the Hornets:
This is easily the worst trade of the bunch as the Charlotte Hornets do not really have many assets that should interest the Lakers. Sure, Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier are big names but at their price points, they do not make sense for LA.
If anything, Hayward makes the most sense for the Lakers as a buyout guy. They should not trade for him at his current price but if they could sign him as a veteran minimum signing it would be a savvy move by Rob Pelinka.
All that being said, the best move the Lakers could make would be to trade for a young, consistent rotational center. Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood haven't really lit the world on fire. Nick Richards isn't going to reinvent the team, but he could add some rebounding and rim-protecting if the Lakers do decide to move on at center.