Lakers Blockbuster Trade Idea Has LA Land $60M All-Star

Could Los Angeles add a star vet this season?

Apr 19, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) dribbles the basketball against Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) in the fourth quarter during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers clearly have a few roster holes as they head towards the midway point of the season.

Despite losing to the Houston Rockets Sunday afternoon, L.A. seems to have found some sense of rhythm recently. The team has gone 8-4 since inserting Max Christie into its starting lineup.

The question of whether the lineup shift is sustainable, especially come playoff time, is still looming for the purple and gold.

The Lakers still need a big man, and thanks to the Spotrac trade machine and studying the CBA, here is how Los Angeles can achieve that via a three-team trade.

Lakers receive: Nikola Vucevic

Bulls receive: Jonas Valanciunas and Jarred Vanderbilt, and a 2030 first-round draft pick swap

Wizards receive: Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood Schifino, and a 2025 second-round draft pick.

Los Angeles gets a versatile center in Vucevic as he returns to the L.A. area. The University of Southern California alum is averaging 20.5 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game while also shooting 42% from three. On a Lebron James led team this seems like the kind of center you want.

The Bulls get a valuable return in Valanciunas, averaging 11.7 points per game and eight rebounds per game on 55.4% shooting. It's worth mentioning he is two years younger than Vucevic and can make an instant impact with the No. 10 seed moving forward.

Chicago is also getting Vanderbilt and a 2030 first-round pick swap. The currently injured power forward is averaging 5.2 points per game in 20 minutes per contest in his first full season as a Laker. At 25, he would bring youth and spacing to the 17-19 Bulls.

The struggling Wizards would get Vincent, another currently injured Laker, who has not quite found his footing in L.A. since arriving last season. Along with a second-round pick in next years draft, Washington receives a 21-year-old Hood-Schifino who has yet to realize his potential in Los Angeles and would benefit on a rebuilding team.

This trade makes sense for a few reasons. The Lakers in dire need of a center finally get one that can space the floor, Chicago gets a younger replacement at that position, a first-round pick swap, and a 25-year-old power forward, and the rebuilding Wizards get a solid young talent along with a veteran in the locker room, should they keep him rostered.

With a little less than a month to go until the Feb. 6 trade deadline, expect L.A. to be calling all over the league to get their roster ready for playoff basketball.

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