3 Lakers trade targets that are miles better than Zach LaVine

Pascal Siakam is a better Lakers trade target than Zach Lavine

If the Lakers wanted to swing for the fences and really make a splash this season then they should be calling the Toronto Raptors for Pascal Siakam. Siakam would be miles better in LA than LaVine would ever be and might just make the Lakers the scariest team in the Western Conference.

Siakam is in the final year of his contract with complicated extension talks between him and the Raptors. It is not a given that Siakam will be traded at the deadline but if an extension cannot be agreed upon the Raptors should absolutely trade him. Not doing so would be malpractice.

This trade would obviously cost the most of any trade on this list and would even be more expensive than a LaVine deal. At the very least, the Lakers would have to trade Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and two unprotected first-round picks. For half a season of Siakam, that is fair value.

However, because the NBA trade market is not linear and the Lakers have to outbid other teams, the price may be higher. Los Angeles may have to package Austin Reaves into the deal over Hachimura or D'Lo to make it happen.

If the price reaches an unbearable point then the Lakers are better off not making the deal. But if they could do it for a package around D'Lo and Hachimura (with picks) then it would be a home run.

LA would be doubling down on the team's size and would still have solid floor spacing. At full strength, the starting five would be Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Pascal Siakam and Anthony Davis. That is a championship-winning lineup, especially when the team would still have Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, Christian Wood, and Max Christie to bring off the bench.