The Los Angeles Lakers look like one of the few teams that can win the NBA Championship this season and the team's In-Season Tournament victory proves that. While Los Angeles looks like one of the best teams in the league right now, that does not mean the team cannot improve.
Improving at the trade deadline is something that every contending team should look to do. Whether it be a big blockbuster trade or making moves around the edges, there are multiple ways that contending teams can bolster their roster for an upcoming playoff run.
The Lakers could try and make a blockbuster trade to shift the foundation of the league but the team could also make a lesser move as well. There are various potential trade targets that make a lot of sense for the Lakers, including one that is confirmed to be on the market.
According to NBA Insider Marc Stein's latest reporting, the Utah Jazz are expected to be among the teams conducting a fire sale of sorts before the deadline this season. Among that fire sale is veteran big man Kelly Olynyk, who is on an expiring contract.
Kelly Olynyk is the perfect cheap trade target for the Los Angeles Lakers
Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes have been serviceable this season but they are not quite what Lakers fans were hoping for. Wood's offensive surge quickly died off while Hayes adds next to nothing on the offense end with below-average rebounding.
The Lakers would benefit from bringing in a reliable big that can actually play next to Anthony Davis consistently. Finding the right fit can be hard but Olynyk has all the traits that the Lakers should want out of a five next to AD.
Olynyk is the perfect type of big that would allow Anthony Davis to play near the rim as a five on offense while playing more of a roaming power forward-type role on defense. Olynyk can space the floor on the offensive end and has enough rebounding skill with size to play the five at the other end.
The veteran big man is a career 37% three-point shooter and is shooting a staggering 46.2% from beyond the arc this season. Karl-Anthony Towns is the only other player in the league who is averaging 9.0 rebounds per 36 minutes with a three-point percentage above 40% (min. 35 attempts). KAT does it at a much higher rate, but that shows how unique Olynyk is as a rotation piece.
At $12.1 million, Olynyk has an obtainable expiring contract for the Lakers. In a perfect world, the team might be able to get out of the Gabe Vincent deal. But if it boils down to it, the Lakers can package Taurean Prince and Jaxson Hayes (with second-round capital) to make the money work.