Less than a month from the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers have plenty of work to do if they want to be contenders. Sitting at 20-16 overall, the Lakers have had some decent stretches, but for much of the season, their play hasn’t been good enough to compete for a championship.
The Lakers still have assets to move, and with LeBron James and Anthony Davis only getting older, the time might be now to make a blockbuster trade.
Ryan Stano of Sports Illustrated put together a deal to send LaMelo Ball to the Lakers for a haul. While his trade pitch would favor the Lakers, the Charlotte Hornets might be hesitant to take it.
Lakers would get: Ball
Hornets would get: Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, 2029 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick swap, 2031 first-round draft pick
“The Lakers have a big issue with a lack of ball-handlers now that D’Angelo Russell has been sent to Brooklyn. That puts a lot of pressure on LeBron James and Austin Reaves in the starting lineup to create offense not just for themselves, but everyone else as well.
“Adding Ball would give the Lakers a dynamic passer who can also create offense for himself. He’s a point guard who takes the scoring burden off of James and Anthony Davis during the regular season. It would allow them to kind of coast until the playoffs get closer,” Stano wrote on Jan. 3.
Why the Hornets Wouldn’t Take This Package
Trading two first-round picks and a swap isn’t anything to diminish, but the Los Angeles Lakers would be attempting to trade for one of the premier guards in the NBA.
Ball, only 23 years old, also doesn’t hit free agency until 2029-2030. If the Charlotte Hornets want to move him, they’d be giving a team four-and-a-half years of him under contract. That would make the package much more than what the Lakers could offer.
Now, if the Lakers would be willing to add someone like Austin Reaves to the deal if they could make it work financially, they might be able to get to the table. Without Reaves, however, the Hornets don’t have much of a reason to take this haul.
What Do the Lakers Need at the Deadline?
The Los Angeles Lakers have been looking to pair James and Davis with a star for the past few years.
Ball would give them just that and be an initiator on offense and an elite shot-maker, something the Lakers would love to add.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN proposed the idea of adding Zach LaVine, citing all of the same reasons why the Lakers would love to trade for Ball.
“If L.A. could keep its best three players in Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Austin Reaves while adding a two-time All-Star like Zach LaVine — for a package of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schifino and draft capital — it would give JJ Redick’s offense a much-needed boost, while not sacrificing too much on the defensive end.
“Dorian Finney-Smith could step into Hachimura’s role, and L.A. could be a destination for buyout players for the stretch run. LaVine, averaging 23.1 points on 51/45/82% splits this season, and still just 29, can help L.A. now and in the future,” McMenamin wrote on January 8.
Ball, averaging 29.9 points and 7.3 assists, would be the better addition, but LaVine, averaging 23.1 points and 4.5 assists, would also be a nice get for the Lakers.
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Lakers Land LaMelo Ball for Haul in Blockbuster Trade Proposal