The Los Angeles Lakers are primed to make a move ahead of the trade deadline, and two previous NBA Finals participants are among their most likely trade candidates.
L.A. faces an interesting conundrum as the current No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a record of 18-7. The team has superstar Luka Doncic under contract for this season and the next two years to come, and it can clear the decks in 2027 to build around Doncic and potentially Austin Reaves as his offensive wingman.
The Lakers can trade one first-round pick and up to five first-round pick swaps up until early February. However, if they wait until next offseason, the team can open up more viable draft assets to build around Doncic. But then there is LeBron James to consider, who is still one of the league’s best players, even as he approaches his 41st birthday in late December.
Los Angeles is theoretically in play for a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Reaves plus a first-round pick and multiple swaps isn’t likely to get that trade done. That said, an argument can be made that the team should move its sole first-round draft asset, in either 2031 or 2032, plus some ancillary players to acquire 3-and-D wing Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans and try and challenge the top of the West this season.
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Should the Lakers choose to do so, their most likely player assets include guard Gabe Vincent and forward Maxi Kleber, both of whom were contributors to recent NBA Finals teams in the Miami Heat (2023) and Dallas Mavericks (2024), respectively.
“Los Angeles must tread carefully because it’s so close to the first apron, where the Lakers are hard-capped, but adding $23 million in salary is possible if Vincent and Kleber are the outgoing salaries,” John Hollinger of The Athletic wrote on Tuesday, December 16. “They can net even bigger fish by including Jarred Vanderbilt’s $11.5 million, but his contract is likely problematic because it runs through 2027-28.”
“I’d probably file this one under ‘opportunism,'” Hollinger continued. “The Lakers don’t need to chase bad deals, but their expiring money and the one first could let them pounce if an optimal situation presents itself.”
The most likely trade target in any scenario including Kleber, Vincent and a first-round pick would involve a trade with the Pelicans for Jones, whom the Lakers have already actively inquired about this month.
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