If there is real concern about Marcus Smart walking away from the Los Angeles Lakers after the rising concern involving the Houston Rockets stealing another key free agent in back-to-back years, Rob Pelinka needs a contingency plan. The Ja Morant trade might have just created one.
Shams Charania reported the Memphis Grizzlies are trading Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Just like that, the Blazers are overflowing with guards on their roster. Conventional wisdom would reasonably suggest that Morant, Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson, and Jrue Holiday gives them a surplus at the position to the point of someone needing to relocate.
Chris Haynes reported: "The Portland Trail Blazers envision a starting backcourt of Damian Lillard and Ja Morant alongside Deni Avdija on the wing. A very unconventional move that the franchise believes has upside. Ja Morant gets his fresh start."
If Morant and Lillard are the starters in the backcourt, Holiday's $34.8 million immediately sticks out as a big price tag for someone coming off the bench. That is where the Lakers could jump in and land themselves a replacement for Smart, in the event of his departure.
Jrue Holiday trade makes perfect sense for the Lakers — at the right price
Morant is the only player on the Blazers' cap books who is earning more than Holiday would next season. That offers some perspective as to just how much money Portland are currently committing to a player who may not start, if Haynes' aforementioned report is accurate.
The Lakers could essentially have Holiday replace Smart in the starting lineup, handing him the same role that the former Defensive Player of the Year had in 2025-26. The fit is a good one, and Jrue still has juice in the tank.
Plus, the Lakers would only be on the hook for paying the former two-time NBA champion for two more seasons (including 2026-27). There is a catch here, though.
The Lakers should not simply be using their open cap space to fully absorb Holiday's deal and call it a day. This is the opportunity to ship players like Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and even Deandre Ayton out of town. Perhaps even Jake LaRavia is involved in the mix.
There should be no interest in Ayton, particularly, for the Blazers after they bought him out and created a path for him to join the Lakers in the first place. There would need to be at least one more team involved in this trade to make it work.
If enough relevant partners can come together on the deal, the Lakers can rid themselves of contracts they do not love and bring back a proven contributor in the process while still allowing themselves the money to sign players on the open market to fill other voids.
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