Lakers Need to Target Struggling East Team for Blockbuster Trades

Of course, so should every team in L.A.'s position.

Jun 24, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka looks on as head coach JJ Redick speaks to the media during an introductory news conference at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 vintage of the Los Angeles Lakers is slated to look shockingly similar to the 2023-24 edition of the club.

Lest L.A. fans forget, last year the Lakers finished with a good-not-great 47-35 record in the crowded Western Conference and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs — by the Denver Nuggets, for the second straight season.

Team president/general manager Rob Pelinka has an opportunity to at least build the club's roster back to something approaching respectability this year, and there is one obvious-and-yet-somehow-untapped resource lingering in the Eastern Conference, should the Lakers at least want to make some major moves to shore up their clearly thin depth.

The Brooklyn Nets signaled a clear commitment to winning later when they flipped their best player, All-Defensive swingman Mikal Bridges, to the neighboring New York Knicks in exchange for a cadre of future draft picks.

Luckily for Los Angeles, Brooklyn still boasts several win-now players, on a roster that is now fully embracing the tank.

Old pal Dennis Schröder, the Lakers' best point guard during its charmed run to the Western Conference Finals in 2023 and a still-good distributor and point-of-attack defender, is signed to a quite reasonable expiring $13 million deal, and seems destined either to negotiate a contract buyout at some point or to be dealt somewhere for some cap relief. But the 31-year-old could actually prove to be a reasonable upgrade for Gabe Vincent, who essentially redshirted all but 11 games with the Lakers last year.

Pricey combo forward Cameron Johnson is a solid two-way player, and could function as a more athletic, more positionally fluid Rui Hachimura and/or Jarred Vanderbilt upgrade (he's more well-rounded than either player) who would provide a major defensive boost.

Another defense-first swingman, Dorian Finney-Smith, would also, like Johnson, add more defense along the wing, although he could help spell Austin Reaves at shooting guard, start at small forward (with All-Star LeBron James moved to power forward int his hypothetical), or even start over Reaves with the young guard being shifted to a starting point guard role.

Center Nicolas Claxton, also on an expiring contract, could add some pogo-stick rim-rolling to the Lakers' lineups, and could either play alongside All-Star big man Anthony Davis or spot him off the bench.

Of course, it would also behoove every team in L.A.'s position (mediocre, but with frisky first round upset potential) to make a call to the Nets. That could drive Brooklyn's asking prices up to the point where they are no longer tenable for Los Angeles.

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