By any measure, as things stand as we approach the middle of July, the Lakers are careening toward a disappointing NBA offseason. They came into the summer with any number of goals—add a star, upgrade at point guard, improve the shooting, bring in a big man to team with Anthony Davis—and have accomplished exactly zero of them. So far, at least.
In the coming weeks, the league’s trade market is expected to heat up, and the hope in Lakerland is that once that happens, the team will be in position to make the kind of move that can push them back into contender-hood.
But the pickings are going to be slim. The Lakers have interest in Lauri Markkanen of the Jazz, but likely won’t have enough capital on hand to get him to L.A. The list of other possible targets—from Zach LaVine and Jerami Grant to Walker Kessler and Malcolm Brogdon—likely won’t move the needle much for the Lakers.
One guy of interest, though, who could help the Lakers check a few boxes remains a possible trade target: Magic center Wendell Carter Jr.
And one executive said he’s still the kind of player the Lakers should be looking for. “Fairly young, probably a little undervalued because of his red flags (injuries) and still tapping into his skillset,” the exec told Heavy Sports. “The contract is right, it makes sense for them. That’s a guy they’re monitoring, but a lot of teams are.”
Lakers Could Deal D’Angelo Russell to Magic
It does make sense, but with some caveats. First, the Magic would need to accept what the Lakers might be willing to give up for Carter Jr. They’d likely want a first-round pick, but the Lakers might not want to pay that price, at least not yet. The Lakers could send D’Angelo Russell for Carter, but the magic would want some youth. That means either a pick or last year’s first-rounder, Jalen Hood-Schifino.
The Magic do need help at point guard, and need a scoring boost to help an offense (22nd in efficiency in the NBA) that could not keep up with the team’s excellent defense (third in the NBA) last season.
Carter could well be worth it. He has struggled to stay healthy, but he has averaged 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in six seasons and had his best year as a 3-point shooter last year, making 37.4% from the arc, finally developing the perimeter shot he’s always claimed to have. Carter has averaged 3.5 3-point attempts per game in his last three seasons after averaging 0.8 per game in his first three.
The Lakers could nudge him into developing the shot further, giving them the kind of two-way stretch-5 they’d love to have alongside Anthony Davis.
Wendell Carter Jr. Struggled to Stay Healthy
There are a number of WCJ fans across the league, and he remains a strong candidate for a trade as the swap market comes into focus, a process that might yet be slowed by the leaguewide focus on Markkanen.
Still, asked for a role player who makes sense for the Lakers, the executive said last month: “Wendell Carter Jr. I think he’s someone they’d go after. He could be a beast as a backup on that team.”
Or, indeed, as a starter alongside AD. Carter is certainly affordable, entering the third year of a team-friendly contract worth four years and $50 million total. It’s a descending deal that pays him $11.9 million this year and $10.9 next year.
The big knock on Carter has been healthy. His entire career has been marked by injuries. He played just 55 games last year, and has played in 315 games since entering the league—an average of just 52.5 per year.
That means there are two big “ifs” when it comes to Carter—if he can stay on the floor and if he can keep shooting 3s. But given the cost, those ifs might be worth a go for the Lakers.
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Lakers ‘Monitoring’ $50 Million Stretch-5 Trade Target: Exec