Lakers Among Frontrunners to Acquire Former All-NBA Defensive Standout

Jeremy Hanna | 4 Hours Ago

Dec 7, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (2) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are currently sitting at eighth place in the Western Conference with a 13-11 record.

This puts them right in front of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns, who are 12-11, and right behind the Denver Nuggets, who are 12-10.

With players like Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Dalton Knecht, and Austin Reaves, the Lakers are more than fine when it comes to offense. However, Los Angeles can definitely use some help defensively.

While Davis is an incredible defensive player, currently averaging 8.7 defensive rebounds, two blocks, and 1.3 steals per game, the nine-time NBA All-Star needs some help.

Fortunately, there is a player who would be a great addition to help the Lakers out on defense, and it looks like they're a frontrunner to land him.

According to a report from Bovada (per NBACentral) the Lakers are one of the favorite NBA franchises to land forward Herb Jones in a potential trade.

Right now, Bovada has the Lakers at +600 odds to land the former NBA All-Defensive player. This ties them with the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Only three teams have better odds to land Jones: the Milwaukee Bucks (+450), the Memphis Grizzlies (+400), and the Dallas Mavericks (+350). Three other organizations were also mentioned with decent odds to trade for Jones: the Los Angeles Clippers (+650), the Indiana Pacers (+1200), and the Miami Heat (+1200).

This news follows a report from Shams Charania of ESPN regarding trade innterest for Jones and CJ McCollum.

“The Pelicans are currently 5-20, in last place in the Western Conference, and now Ingram is out indefinitely with a significant low left ankle sprain," Charania said. "Williamson also remains sidelined indefinitely with a left hamstring strain suffered on Nov. 6. "

"The Pelicans' three All-Stars -- Ingram, Williamson and Murray -- have yet to play together. Teams have already started expressing interest in the Pelicans' supporting cast players, such as Jones and McCollum.”

"If New Orleans made Jones available, they would receive a significant amount of assets in return," Evan Sidery of Forbes said. "Jones is viewed as one of the NBA’s most versatile perimeter defenders."

This would prove to be a huge asset for the Lakers, especially since they're ranked in the bottom five in the NBA on Three Point Defense. Time will tell when and if Jones is traded.

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