No team in the NBA has had as many superstar players in its history than the Los Angeles Lakers. Even longer than the list of superstar players that have suited up in the purple and gold is the list of superstars who have been connected to the team via trade rumors.
Some of these trade rumors come to fruition (such as Pau Gasol in 2008 or Anthony Davis in 2019) while others never quite happen (looking at you, Paul George). Either way, with the Lakers being such a historic franchise they are always in the mix for the next star to carry the torch.
It appears that the front office is already in that mindset despite having two stars in Davis and LeBron James. ESPN's Dave McMenamin recently reported that there has been discussions within the organization of putting together a package that has three first-round picks for a marquee star like Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young.
The Lakers trading for Donovan Mitchell would come at a heavy price
While Mitchell's stock has gone down some with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he is still a superstar player and would cost a pretty penny if the Lakers were to trade for him. However, with a shrinking title window with the current core, it would not be shocking at all to see the Lakers take a big swing.
There have been trade rumors surrounding Mitchell in the not-so-distant past, so it would not be a total shock if he was to be traded. But do the Lakers have enough to reasonably get it done? In the following pages, we will break down what a Mitchell trade may actually look like for the Lakers, as well as hand out grades for both teams involved.