The Los Angeles Lakers have retooled their roster this summer, but their perimeter defense around Luka Doncic remains a glaring weakness.
While filling their final two roster spots with 6-foot-9 defender Ziaire Williams and two-time All-Defensive wing Matisse Thybulle helps, they are still at least one more elite wing defender away from truly competing with the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and the rest of the Western Conference powerhouses.
New Orleans’ Herbert Jones represents the ultimate target — an All-Defensive First Team talent who instantly elevates their defense. However, exhausting their trade assets to acquire Walker Kessler leaves L.A. with little leverage. To land Jones, the Lakers will need to test the Pelicans’ desperation in the form of this proposed trade.
Lakers Trade Idea for Herbert Jones
Lakers would receive: Herbert Jones, Karlo Matkovic
Pelicans would receive: Dalton Knecht (via TPE), Jaden Hardy (via NTMLE)
Why the Lakers Do It
Joining Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler and potentially Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jones would complete a dynamic starting lineup built on balanced shooting, playmaking and defensive versatility. At 27, he aligns perfectly with the Lakers’ focus on mid-to-late-20s talent. Beyond his elite perimeter defense, he brings reliable floor-spacing; after averaging 1.4 threes in 28.4 minutes with the Pelicans, his perimeter volume and efficiency would likely surge alongside Doncic’s elite playmaking.
The Lakers, who have 16 players on guaranteed contracts, have been trying to get rid of Dalton Knecht’s contract ahead of the new season, per NBA insider Jake Fischer.
“I do think that the Lakers are still going to be looking at potentially trading Dalton [Knecht], Jarred Vanderbilt,” Fischer said recently. “I think there’s plenty of time here before they have to make a decision. They do, I believe, still want to make some type of trade upgrade at the wing/forward spot after missing out on Jonathan Kuminga. I do think the Lakers are incomplete right now moving forward.”
As for Matkovic, the Croatian stretch big has been earmarked as a Lakers trade target all offseason.
“Luka would absolutely love him,” a Western Conference coach told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney in late July. “Really great athleticism, I mean, if you put a pass near the rim, he is going to get up and get it and score. Very good help defense, he can make up ground and block shots if there’s a blow-by.
“The 3-pointer is still a work in progress, but he can do it.”
Why the Pelicans Do It
The potential Lakers trade framework is structured in such a way where the Pelicans don’t add onto their payroll, as they will be using their TPE and NTMLE slots to add Knecht and Hardy, respectively. Both incoming salaries can be waived in a year.
Shedding salary remains a priority for New Orleans, which recently cleared nearly $6M by trading away Jordan Hawkins and Micah Peavy. Moving Jones furthers that goal by offloading his three-year, $68M extension before it kicks in for the 2027–28 season, allowing the Pelicans to escape the lucrative contract proactively.
Between Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III occupying the wing spots, New Orleans faced a rotational logjam that even forced Zion Williamson to the bench last season. Moving one of their core forwards makes practical sense to clear minutes for the others. With the franchise prioritizing a youth movement around Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears — and Dejounte Murray returning to command the starting point guard role — clearing out Jones resolves a crowded depth chart. Furthermore, they signed Bennedict Mathurin this offseason, only furthering their logjam at the forward/wing spots.
Lakers Trade Pitch Lands All-Defensive Wing Herb Jones, Euro Stretch Big