Bill Simmons Predicts Lakers Will Trade Star to Shore Up Defensive Issues

It'd be a huge swing for Los Angeles.

Nov 21, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) drives past Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23), forward Anthony Davis (3) and guard Austin Reaves (15) at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Will the Los Angeles Lakers be able to right the ship internally and salvage their season? Or will they be forced to make some major moves and take some big personnel swings?

It's certainly looking like the latter, as 20-time All-NBA power forward LeBron James, the league's oldest active player, is starting to miss time and exposing the club's offensive limitations without him. When starting point guard Austin Reaves sat out five bouts with a pelvic contusion, he revealed other fissures within the club's scoring approach.

L.A.'s biggest issues, however, have been on the other end. The Lakers lack the personnel to stop basically anyone along the wing, and beyond five-time All-NBA Lakers center Anthony Davis Davis the team is a net negative inside the paint, too.

On a recent episode of his very addictive show The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer's Bill Simmons and frequent guest Joe House unpacked how Los Angeles general manager Rob Pelinka would approach the rest of the season from a transactional standpoint.

"[The] Lakers will do some sort of panic trade, I just don't know what it is," Simmons said. "If they're actually trying to be competitive, they'll know that you can't play LeBron — who's, by metrics, one of the five worst defensive players in the league by now — with Reaves, with [rookie starting shooting guard Dalton] Knecht, and with D-Lo [reserve point guard D'Angelo Russell]. You can't have those four guys on the court at the same time, unless you're trying to play a game that's like 145-143. So my guess is Reaves would be the trade guy. Right? 'Cause [you take] his contract and put it with something else."

As House noted, the Lakers still have two future first round picks that they could offload in a possible move. A combination of the contracts of Reaves, starting small forward Rui Hachimura (who's owed $17 million this year, Reaves ($13 million), and Russell ($18.7 million on an expiring deal), along with the future draft equity, could get the club into a variety of conversations for pricier pieces.

"If you really wanted to make a run at an expensive guy you could," Simmons said. "[Utah Jazz team president Danny] Ainge has all those pieces. He's got John Collins at $26.5 [million], [Collin] Sexton at $18.3 [million], Jordan Clarkson at $14 [million], and he's got, most importantly, Kessler at $3 [million]... Sexton and Kessler would genuinely help them."

Kessler would help cure what ails the Lakers defensively in the paint. Davis, who played power forward for much of his first two seasons in L.A. circa 2019-21, could conceivably suit up at that position again next to Kessler — at least for spot minutes, though the nine-time All-Star remains most effective at the five, so presumably he would replace Kessler to close out games in this scenario.

House floated Miami Heat small forward Jimmy Butler as an intriguing potential big-ticket fit for the Lakers.

Read More: Building the Perfect Los Angeles Trade for Jimmy Butler

"The guy that I would think that the Lakers would have circled: JImmy Butler," House said. "'We're gonna go get a big, super-duper big-dong star, that's a tough guy."

The six-time Heat All-Star is apparently receptive to being traded to his hometown Houston Rockets, the Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns, per ESPN's Shams Charania. Los Angeles has enough assets and movable contracts that it could also get into the bidding, should Butler prove receptive. He does, after all, have a home in San Diego, so we know he likes Southern California.

"That would have to be basically Reaves, Russell and Rui," Simmons said of a projected Heat haul — in addition to, presumably one or two lightly protected future first round draft picks.

The 6-foot-7 Marquette product has a $52.4 million player option for next season, and the rumor is that he will decline it, no matter where he lands (or if he stays in Miami). So it may behoove L.A. to at least hold on to one of its movable future draft selections if there's a risk Butler could turn into a half-season rental.

Even at 35 and in his 14th pro season, Butler remains an elite two-way player, who would greatly improve the Lakers' defense along the perimeter. On offense, he's got a knack for getting to the foul line, is an excellent ball handler and playmaker, and ranks among the league's best midrange jump shooters. He's also connecting on a totally solid 36 percent of his (fairly minimal) 1.4 3-point triple tries a night.

If healthy, a "Big Three" of James, Butler, and Davis could prove to be a lethal combination. In Simmons' hypothetical, the Lakers would still hold on to sharpshooting rookie Knecht, defense-first reserves Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish, swingman Max Christie, plus backup big men Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes, and Jarred Vanderbilt.

If Los Angeles could find a way to move one of Vincent (netting $11 million this year) or Vanderbilt ($10.7 million), plus presumably a second rounder or two, in exchange for a more reliable piece, maybe the team could become a dangerous playoff out yet.

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