1. Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are No. 1 on this list for several reasons, one of which being the front offices have already built a rapport with each other. Utah traded Patrick Beverley to Los Angeles last week in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson.
Plenty of solid veterans remain on the Jazz roster that the Lakers would benefit from acquiring. Utah is motivated to get a deal done centered around Donovan Mitchell before training camp, which presents an ideal situation for Los Angeles to jump in as a third team.
Danny Ainge is seeking as much draft capital as possible in a Mitchell blockbuster. If Los Angeles gets involved, he should be able to land the 4-6 unprotected first-round picks that he has been seeking.
Being the third team in a deal would also open the Lakers up to acquire pieces from the other team involved. Let’s say that the New York Knicks are the team that lands Mitchell.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Utah Jazz & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Evan Fournier, Julius Randle or one of the young players, such as Cam Reddish, could head to Los Angeles instead with Russell Westbrook on his way to Salt Lake City.
Bojan Bogdanovic and Malik Beasley are two players that would likely intrigue the Lakers from Utah. Bogdanovic is an excellent complementary scorer from the forward spot with 3-point range. He is also on an expiring contract.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Utah Jazz & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Beasley is going to be 26 in November and would bring more high-scoring potential to the backcourt. He can provide a similar impact to what Malik Monk did for the team last season. In addition, the 2023-24 season on his contract is a team option, so Los Angeles could view him as an expiring contract as well.
