Getty Austin Reaves & Gabe Vincent of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers could be big-game hunting this offseason after a first-round playoff exit. The team tried to build a roster of solid role players around Anthony Davis and LeBron James but it wasn’t enough to get over the hump.
Instead of running it back with the same approach, the Lakers could sell the farm to add another big-name star. Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report pitched a trade that sends Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young.
“Atlanta isn’t facing a financial imperative to move Young, but GM Landry Fields seems convinced that the Young-Murray backcourt isn’t working,” Hughes wrote in a May 17 column. “He may have even hurt his team’s trade leverage by broadcasting that belief.
“For the Lakers, this is a pure star play. LeBron James and Anthony Davis need two-way support pieces more than anything else, but Young has had multiple seasons in which he’s rated among the league’s most effective offensive forces. His potential impact on L.A.’s offense, and his ability to create easy looks for James and Davis, could pay off in a big way.”
Young has been among the league leaders in turnovers throughout his career and is a very poor defender but there’s no denying he’s a strong scorer as he’s averaged over 25.0 points a game in all but one season in his career.
San Antonio Spurs Might Not Be Interested in Trae Young
If the Lakers want Young, the San Antonio Spurs have seemed like their biggest competition. However, they may not have that much interest in the star guard, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.
“According to multiple league figures with knowledge of the situation, any Spurs plans of maneuvering to bring Young to San Antonio have been vastly overstated,” Fischer wrote in a May 15 column. “The Spurs, sources said, have expressed little interest in obtaining Young to date.”
If the Spurs aren’t interested in Young, the Lakers may not have much competition for him this offseason. That could make the asking price for him a bit lower. It won’t be cheap to get Young but maybe the Lakers could part with just one first-round pick instead of two.
Los Angeles Lakers Need to Be Smart This Offseason
Young is a good player and could end up being a good fit with the Lakers but the team needs to be sure of that before they further mortgage their future. The Russell Westbrook trade was a huge disaster for the team and they can’t go through that again.
Young is a different player than Westbrook and younger so it’s not as risky but the Lakers can’t afford to mess up again. The superteam approach hasn’t worked in the NBA in recent years and adding Young would limit what the team can do on the rest of the roster. James only has so many seasons left and the Lakers getting the roster wrong again could signal the end for the future Hall of Famer competing for championships. Los Angeles needs to be creative this offseason and general manager Rob Pelinka doesn’t have the best track record.