Lakers News: Writer Predicts LA Will Trade For Pricey Veteran Forward
The 2023-24 NBA season for your Los Angeles Lakers starts on Tuesday and the team is preparing for a very successful year. The Purple and Gold enter the year as one of the best teams in the league, and they believe they have a roster to win it all.
The one issue for this team could be how they defend other team's superstar wing players. They signed Taurean Price, but he can only do so much.
Michael Pina of The Ringer put together 20 bold predictions for the upcoming NBA season, and one of them directly involves the Lakers. They believe that LA will make a deal with the Portland Trailblazers for a recently resigned forward.
“Jerami Grant will end up on the Lakers: I mentioned this possibility in a recent column. Maybe it won’t happen. Maybe the Blazers will find a different trade partner or the Lakers won’t be willing to meet Portland’s asking price. But ever since Damian Lillard’s trade request went public, Grant to the Lakers has felt like a fait accompli.”
Grant has been linked to the Lakers for some time now, but a trade has never come to fruition. Since he faced off against LA in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, many have put the two together.
He didn’t back down against LeBron James then, and James acknowledged his toughness. Grant would be a good fit for this Lakers team, but the issue is his contract. He just signed a massive deal to remain in Portland and it’s not likely that the Lakers will be willing to take that on.
“On one hand, Grant’s contract—a five-year, $160 million deal—is prohibitive for a team that will want to maintain flexibility as it shifts into a post–LeBron James era. On the other, Grant is represented by Klutch, and the Lakers should absolutely be all in to win it all.”
Klutch or not, the Lakers aren’t going to put themselves in this position with Grant. He checks the boxes for a wing stopper that this team could use, but not at that price. LA will likely take their chances with the roster they have right now.
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