The Los Angeles Lakers have spent the duration of the 2024 NBA offseason being linked to some of the top names on the trade market. In some cases, the reported interest dates back several months, thus making the sustained intrigue even more palpable.
The question facing the Lakers, however, is which of the stars to whom they've been linked would bring the most value to the team in 2024-25 and beyond.
In order to answer that question, a set of criteria must first be established. In this case, the basis for evaluation consists of what they offer on the court, their history of injuries and availability, and the ever-important opportunity cost.
As such, a better player may ultimately find themselves ranked lower on the list due exclusively to their contract, their team's asking price, or their personal injury history.
It might seem arbitrary given the importance of raw talent in the NBA, but it's what every great team factors in when considering a trade. It protects them from potentially disastrous investments and provides a stable platform from which they can negotiate.
The question is: Of the top rumored targets to whom the Lakers have been linked, who offers the best value via the potential return on investment?
In an alternate universe, Zach LaVine has avoided the injury bug and is coming off of yet another All-Star season. He was selected to the All-Star Game in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, and averaged 24.8 points per game on .485/.375/.848 shooting when he was questionably omitted in 2022-23.
Unfortunately, LaVine missed 57 games due to issues with his foot in 2023-24—and the $137,998,980 he's owed over the next three seasons makes that impossible to overlook.
When healthy, LaVine is one of the most captivating players in the NBA. He's an effortlessly explosive athlete with an efficient outside shot, as well as an improved paymaker who would fit perfectly alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James in either an on-ball or off-ball role.
The Lakers simply don't have the luxury of gambling on LaVine's health with James entering his age-40 season.
Furthermore, LaVine is owed upwards of $43 million in 2024-25, which creates an extraordinary challenge as far as matching his salary is concerned. In this scenario, the Lakers would likely need to part with all of Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Gabe Vincent to simply make the finances align.
Even with the addition of LaVine's offensive value, losing the two best defensive players on the roster not named Davis, plus a starting-caliber forward, would be too much of a risk.
Lakers and LaVine had mutual interest in November of 2023, per Shams Charania and Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, but the injury concerns have potentially put an end to those exploratory conversations.
Jerami Grant has become one of the top players linked to the Los Angeles Lakers in recent weeks. A Klutch Sports client with 3-and-D capabilities, Grant looks the part of a player who could function well alongside Davis and James.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Lakers are, in fact, interested in exploring that possibility via a potential trade.
Grant played 53 percent of his minutes at power forward in 2023-24, as well as 41 percent at the 3. That positional versatility bodes well for the Lakers, especially when one considers how capable he is on the defensive end of the floor.
Factoring in his three-point shooting, it's easy to see why the Lakers have interest in one of the best 3-and-D players in the NBA.
The downside with Grant is similar to the concerns with LaVine: Injuries and opportunity cost. Grant has missed at least 28 games in two of the past three seasons and is owed $29,793,104 for the 2024-25 campaign. Furthermore, Portland's asking price is two first-round draft picks, per Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report.
The Lakers potentially parting with Hachimura, one of Vanderbilt and Vincent, and two first-round draft picks for Grant just doesn't seem worth the price.
Trae Young is the best player available in these hypothetical trade discussions. He's also a player whose contract alone would require the Los Angeles Lakers to part with Hachimura and Austin Reaves, as well as one or even both of Vanderbilt and Vincent.
Despite his obvious case for being the No. 1 player on this list, and the established interest between the two sides, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Young checks in lower due exclusively to the cost of doing business with the Atlanta Hawks.
Trading for Young would likely cost the Lakers two starters, their top two reserves, and multiple first-round draft picks. It's certainly intriguing to consider, as the trio of Davis, James, and Young would rank among the best in the NBA.
Davis and Young also project to be a dynamic duo beyond the James era, with high-low balance that can cause trouble for any team in the Association.
True as that may be, matching a $43,031,940 salary would cost the Lakers a vast majority of its already limited depth. In the modern NBA, having three stars just isn't enough when teams are throwing out lineups that prioritize depth, defensive intensity, and offensive balance.
There's certainly reason for intrigue with the best player on this list, but opportunity cost is just as important as the quality of the talent acquired given the Lakers' financial situation.
Three max players on the same roster just doesn't leave much room to build beyond them—and the Lakers don't have any time to waste entering James' age-40 season.
This is where the conversation about opportunity cost begins to play its part. The debate between Darius Garland, Brandon Ingram, and Trae Young comes down to one simple fact: Contracts and how they might hinder the depth around the new big three.
With the second-cheapest contract of the star trio, including multiple seasons remaining on the deal, Garland has quite a case for No. 1—but ultimately comes in at No. 2.
Garland is owed $36,725,670 for the 2024-25 season, which is massive but more affordable than the alternative at point guard. It offsets some of the distance between them as far as nightly production and postseason success is concerned.
Beyond the comparison, Garland is one of the best point guards in the NBA, possessing three-level scoring ability and tremendous court vision.
Since his All-Star season in 2021-22, Garland has averaged 20.6 points, 7.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 2.4 three-point field goals made on .458/.389/.866 shooting. He's also helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win at least 44 games in each of those three campaigns, making the playoffs twice.
Trading for Garland would be a more cost-efficient trade than acquiring Young, and keeping Reaves makes all the difference in these rankings.
Garland has said that he doesn't want to be traded, but Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic reported that Donovan Mitchell signing an extension may have put a timer on how long the duo coexists.
Trading for Brandon Ingram is the best option for the Los Angeles Lakers for three crucial reasons. That begins with a contract that's even cheaper than Garland's, continues with the fact that wings are the most valuable players in the modern NBA, and ends with the rare opportunity for negotiating leverage.
Ingram is an All-Star wing on an expiring $36,016,200 contract, and the New Orleans Pelicans are reluctant to match his asking price for an extension, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
With New Orleans facing the possibility that it could lose Ingram for nothing, Los Angeles suddenly has leverage in future discussions. The Pelicans are unlikely to want to lose Ingram for nothing during the 2025 period of free agency and could, in turn, be willing to accept less in a trade.
As a result, the Lakers could keep Reaves and even retain one of Vanderbilt or Vincent as negotiations instead center around Hachimura, one of the two key reserves, and draft capital.
In that scenario, the Lakers would be adding a player who has averaged 23.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.8 three-point field goals made since 2019. Ingram would step in as the wing of the future, which is exactly what Los Angeles needs as James approaches his age-40 season.
With Ingram and Reaves scoring and facilitating from the wings, and Davis holding down the interior, the Lakers would have a chance to build a strong core for a future beyond James.
Los Angeles could also keep its core pieces and re-sign Ingram next summer.