Lakers News: LA Linked to Usual Blockbuster Trades Ahead of 2023 NBA Draft
The NBA is on fire right now ladies and gentlemen as just days after the Bradley Beal deal between the Phoenix Suns and Wizards went down, Washington has opted to trade away yet another one of their biggest names in Kristaps Porzingis.
It did take a couple of tries but they were able to get it done by Wednesday night as they sent him to the Boston Celtics in a three-team trade that landed them Tyus Jones, Mike Muscala, Danilo gallinari, and a handful of picks.
With Porzingod on the way to a contender and other stars possibly up next, the Lakers now must look at their offseason with a whole new approach. The initial idea of just running it back with majority of the same group becomes a lot riskier now as LeBron James & AD see these other franchises making moves and will likely put pressure on LA’s front office.
The draft is today, the Lakers have the number 17 and 47 picks, and The Athletic’s Jovan Buha laid out a number of directions they could choose to go . One will see them playing it safe and simply making their normal selections. The second has them either trading up for a better player or trading down for more compensation. However, the third is where it gets very interesting and that is where they could package their first round pick with the likes of Mo Bamba and/or Malik Beasley and look for an actual veteran/fringe-star to make a winning impact right now.
That third option is looking more and more likely by the hour and Buha actually listed Porzingis as a trade target for LA before the whole chaos went down. However, he also brought up some familiar faces over in Indiana with Myles Turner and Buddy Heild.
This is a duo that has been linked to the Lakers for a long time and Turner even publicly stated that the franchise should have made a move for him this past trade deadline. Considering that the Pacers already sent their 2023 first rounder to the Denver Nuggets yesterday makes this potential deal a bit of a head-scratcher but it could’ve all been a part of their plan to see how bad LA wants them.
Another option proposed would see Royce O’Neal and Dorian Finney-Smith from Brooklyn acquired for the same package. These guys could prove to be game-changers for the purple and gold late in the season as they can defend and space the floor for the stars.
Finally, Gary Trent Jr. has also once again been linked to the Lakers as they potentially mull over a draft day trade. It’s becoming clear that the Raptors want a fresh start of sorts within their roster and taking over LA’s first rounder would do that for them.
Trent has shot below 35% from three only once in his career, dating back to his rookie season and he’ll provide a level of toughness this lakers squad needs.
Let's see how everything plays out folks!
