With October getting ready to say hello, many Los Angeles Lakers fans may have already accepted that the team will not, in fact, make a trade for that big fish power forward.
But Lakers reporter Khobi Price of the California Post had already warned that the Lakers, following the Walker Kessler trade, don’t have the ammunition to take another big swing.
“The Lakers’ tradable draft picks are limited: They own their own 2033 second-round draft pick; they possess a pair of second-round picks from the Wizards in 2031 and 2032 after swapping Deandre Ayton for Jaden Hardy; and the lone first-round pick they’re able to outright swap in a trade is in 2032. Outside of that, their other trade assets are mostly players who could be on expiring contracts if their team options for 2027-28 are declined (such as Hardy and Dalton Knecht),” Price wrote.
Although that is the case, it is not like the Lakers absolutely have no way to make another trade. It seems unlikely that the team makes a move at this juncture of the offseason, but if the Lakers wanted to get aggressive, there is belief that they would have what it takes to acquire a potential impact player.
Lakers to Go After This Young Rising Star?
If you have submerged yourself in Lakers trade speculation at any point during this offseason, you have likely come across at least a dozen names that the Lakers “could” go after. From the P.J. Washingtons all the way to the Kyle Kuzmas of the world, it darn sure feels like at least one player from every team has entered NBA trade rumors involving L.A. Well, add Indiana Pacers big man Jarace Walker to the list. According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, Walker is among the Lakers’ top five trade targets.
“At 6’7″, Walker is more of a perimeter scorer than a bruising power forward, but he’s athletic and would add additional depth to the Lakers’ frontcourt,” Pincus wrote. “The Pacers have consistently avoided the luxury tax, so it’s surprising the franchise projects to be over this year by as much as $6.4 million. Many competing executives expect the team to trim somewhere ahead of the trade deadline to get under the $200.4 million threshold.”
Pincus outlined that any trade involving Walker, the 23-year-old who was selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, could see the Lakers send out a package of up to four players.
“Walker is the most obvious, expendable player at $8.5 million. The Lakers would need to send out, though they may need a third team to take on one of Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy, or Jake LaRavia, to help the Pacers avoid the tax.”
Would Walker Be a Difference-Maker for L.A.?
Some Lakers may have scoffed the moment they learned Walker is only a measly 6’7”. (I stepped into it, didn’t I?) L.A. is already short on frontcourt depth, and Walker would help solve that, but he still wouldn’t address two concerns for the Lakers: a lack of size and the need for a starting-caliber power forward.
“He was pretty bad in a big role for the Pacers a season ago when it was kind of the, man, we need him to be really good,” NBA insider Keith Smith recently said of Walker on the “NBA Front Office” YouTube channel. “And he got every opportunity to show what he can do and just didn’t play that well. And that sucks because I was super high on Jarace Walker coming in. I thought he was gonna be a big ball-handling wing that could do a lot of different stuff. It just never really kind of come together for him.”
Walker is young and still very-much ascending. Given the Lakers’ recent interest in another rising 23-year-old with two-way ability — don’t worry, we won’t speak his name again around here — perhaps Walker is a player the Lakers would gladly accept.
The Pacers have a bit of a roster crunch of their own and are creeping up toward those apron penalties. But for the Lakers, it feels like they’d only pull the trigger on a Walker trade if the price were truly cheap enough. (Though it would be cool to have two Walkers in that frontcourt … the Walker-Blockers, anyone? Forgive the digression. And the quirky joke.)
Lakers Linked to Standout 23-Year-Old PF in Potential Blockbuster NBA Trade