The Los Angeles Lakers have been active in trade conversations leading up to the 2023 NBA Draft, according to league insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
In terms of what the Lakers could part with in a trade to add a new talent into the fold, they could include Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba and the 17th overall pick in the for “a starter-level player.”
“The framework of a deal would likely involve Beasley, Bamba and the No. 17 pick getting exchanged for a starter-level player,” Buha wrote. “The Lakers could also execute a smaller deal with only one of Beasley or Bamba, plus, potentially, the pick.”
The Lakers are linked to various possible trade targets for such a package, including Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O’Neale, Gary Trent Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: LeBron James, Anthony Davis & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt and Max Christie are the only players under contract for next season, which accounts for already being nearly $120 million in salary cap spending. The Lakers, who got swept by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals, are expected to re-sign Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura in restricted free agency.
Even if the Lakers do manage to re-sign Reaves and Hachimura, they will need to navigate the futures of free-agent talents like D’Angelo Russell, Dennis Schröder, and Lonnie Walker IV.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: LeBron James, Anthony Davis & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Given the restrictive landscape of the Lakers’ cap sheet, they have largely been limited to leveraging trade activity in order to reconfigure the supporting cast around James and Davis. The team made wide-speeding changes at the midseason deadline and has communicated valuing continuity over chasing a big-name to fill a third star role, which proved to be a failure with Russell Westbrook.
“We’re incredibly proud of this group, getting to the Western Conference Finals,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said during his media exit interview. “After the trade deadline, we had one of the top records in the league. I think keeping that continuity is going to be very important. We ultimately got knocked out by a team that has great continuity.
“That’s a high priority for us,” Pelinka explained. “We feel like we have a group of special players in the locker room. They enjoy playing with each other, Darvin enjoys coaching them. We know there’s more growth and improvement in that group, especially if we get a training camp together. So, I would say it’s a high priority to keep our core players together.”
It will be interesting to see if the Lakers are able to make a blockbuster trade this offseason. The Western Conference Finals showed that James and Davis need more help.
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