The Los Angeles Lakers would land Derrick Jones Jr. in a three-team trade proposal that would also ship 25-year-old Dalton Knecht to the archrival Boston Celtics and former second-round draft pick Jaden Hardy to the crosstown Clippers.
The elaborate trade pitch also ships a substantial haul of draft capital among the three teams, according to the deal created by a user on the roster building site FanSpo.
The framework posted to FanSpo by user Melo4MVPS moves Jones Jr. from the Clippers to the Lakers and Dalton Knecht from the Lakers to the Celtics. The Clippers collect Jaden Hardy and five second-round picks, including a 2030 selection routed through Phoenix, Portland or Washington, two 2031 seconds, a 2032 second and a 2033 second. Boston and the Clippers grade out clean.
Hardy came over from Washington on July 7 in the deal that sent Deandre Ayton the other way, confirmed in a Lakers.com transaction release. A player acquired by trade cannot have his salary bundled with a teammate’s for two months, a restriction outlined by Hoops Rumors. The machine needs Hardy’s $6 million stacked on Knecht’s $4.2 million to absorb Jones Jr.’s $10.48 million. But on Sept. 7, the hurdle to the proposed trade clears.
Lakers Would Add Derrick Jones Jr. as Starting Wing
Jones Jr. went undrafted out of UNLV in 2016 and has since worn six uniforms — Phoenix, Miami, Portland, Chicago, Dallas and the Clippers. He beat Aaron Gordon in a double tiebreaker to win the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest. He has reached the Finals twice, with Miami in 2020 and Dallas in 2024.
The 6-foot-6 left-hander started 45 of 50 games for the Clippers last season and posted 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 27.0 minutes while shooting 35.9 percent from three. Over 547 games he has averaged 7.5 points on 50.6 percent shooting.
His $10,476,190 salary expires next summer. Los Angeles would carry that money for one season, stay hard-capped at a first apron of $209.015 million according to Bleacher Report , then let him walk.
Celtics and Clippers Bet on Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy
Knecht, the 17th pick in 2024, averaged 9.1 points in 19.2 minutes as a rookie and shot 37.6 percent from three. Year two saw a precipitous collapse, with 4.2 points in 10.2 minutes over 54 games, one start, and 34.2 percent from deep, according to ESPN stats. The Lakers shopped him at the deadline and parked him in the G League.
Boston would owe Knecht $4,201,080 this season with a $6,452,859 team option for 2027-28, according to Spotrac.
Hardy shunned college ball for the G League Ignite and went 37th overall in the 2022 NBA draft. The 24-year-old signed a three-year, $18 million extension with Dallas in October 2024, carries a $6 million cap hit and has a club option waiting in 2027-28, per Spotrac‘s Hardy data. He has never started more than seven games in a season.
For the Clippers the appeal is subtraction. They shed $10.48 million, take back $6 million and bank five picks that cost them a rotation starter and nothing else. They would also fall to 12 standard contracts, two short of the required 14, on a wing depth chart already stocked with Brandon Ingram, Rui Hachimura and Max Strus, according to Sports Illustrated.
Lakers Trade Pitch Lands Derrick Jones Jr., Sends Dalton Knecht to Celtics