Rockets' Fred VanVleet Cited as Potential Trade Target for Lakers

Would the Rockets consider such a deal?

Dec 2, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D Angelo Russell (1) moves the ball against Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets have selected floor generals in consecutive drafts, albeit very different types, as Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson do much different things. In spite of the two rising youngsters, Fred VanVleet is expected to again occupy a major role.

In fact, last season the Rockets moved Thompson to the wing, allowing him to share the floor with VanVleet, who ranked sixth in minutes in 2023-24. VanVleet operated as the vocal leader and guiding force for a relatively young group last season.

Does the franchise need the same from him this season or could they look to deal the 2019 NBA champion, who holds value as an expiring contract? If it's the latter, which teams would have interest?

According to Maxwell Ogden of Lake Show Life, the Los Angeles Lakers could possibly be a team to look out for closer to the trade deadline.

"If the Lakers are struggling ahead of the trade deadline, then shedding salary and potentially starting from some version of scratch in 2025 wouldn't be the worst idea. It would cost Los Angeles a hefty price, but it would also enable it to shed multi-year salaries if it hopes to do so.

That could include Rui Hachimura's $18,259,259 for the 2025-26 campaign, the $11.5 million owed to Gabe Vincent for 2025-26, and the entirety of Jarred Vanderbilt's four-year extension that kicks in this season.

This is a long shot, as the Lakers would have to give the Rockets reason to believe this trade actually works for them. That could require the inclusion of first-round draft compensation and the belief in Houston that some combination of Hachimura, Vanderbilt, and Vincent can improve the quality of the roster.

Even still, if the Rockets are looking to make a splash and the Lakers are hoping to shed salary, trading for VanVleet and declining his team option would change the entire outlook of the franchise."

Interestingly enough, VanVleet is represented by Klutch Sports Group, which is spearheaded by Rich Paul, long-time friend and business partner of Lakers superstar LeBron James. James and Anthony Davis are both represented by Klutch and the Lakers have developed somewhat of a history of targeting Klutch floor generals, as the franchise set their sights on Dejounte Murray last season.

As always, however, it takes two to tango. And the Lakers don't have much to offer. Not to mention the difficulty of matching VanVleet's $42.85 million.

It'll certainly be worth keeping an eye on, however.

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