The Lakers find themselves in the play-in spots following a far-from-impressive campaign. Despite the brilliance of LeBron James, the LA franchise has failed to meet fan expectations. Apart from the success of the In-Season tournament, there is very little to cheer for in Lakers Nation.
With the regular season coming to its final lap, the Lakers can still make a postseason run, but given their form, not much can be expected. The best course of action is to look forward to next season with the goal of building a championship-caliber team, and regarding that, some interesting updates have surfaced.
Lakers to sacrifice Austin Reaves for Trae Young
According to an NBA Insider, the LA Lakers are reportedly looking for a third star to add to their roster for which they have to trade Austin Reaves as suggested by their former star player Shaquille O’Neal. During a Q-and-A session, The Athletics’ Jovan Buha spilled some updates about the possible trades that the LA franchise will be eager to make in the upcoming Summer trade.
After confirming from numerous sources, Buha said, “They are going third-star hunting this offseason. And we’ll see how that affects the D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell) situation. We’ll see how—you probably have to give up Austin [Reaves] in almost any…third-star trade.” The journalist further added, “The one name I continually hear is Trae Young.”
Among the players that the franchise re-signed last season, is Austin Reaves, who was rumored to be traded to the Hawks in exchange for Dejounte Murray in the last window but got away because of his “untouchable” status. He might not be able to escape from the upcoming trade as the Lakers are striving to add another championship trophy to their cabinet alongside the seventeen others.
The Lakers’ guard averaged 16 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.6 assists and is falling short of living up to the mark in the purple and gold jersey, whereas, Atlanta Hawks’ star Trae Young averaged 26.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 10.8 assists per game this season. Young is in his second season of the 5-year contract worth $215 million and missed a chunk of games because of injury.
The Lakers can benefit if the 3-time All-Star joins forces with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As mentioned by Buha the franchise wants to trade D’Angelo Russell as well in order to rebuild the squad.
D’Angelo Russell trade talks can land him in Orlando
D’Angelo Russell was re-signed by the LA franchise, who raised hopes but failed to showcase his true potential on the hardwood. While the regular season rapidly coming to an end, the Lakers are trying their best to qualify for the playoff in their championship quest. With a stronger squad next season by making some changes, they are looking to close the gap on the league’s elites.
Regarding the 28-year-old guard’s trade, Jovan Buha said, “Orlando is the team that—talking to people with the Lakers, talking to people outside the Lakers—Orlando is the team that probably gives them the most concern in terms of a potential suitor.”
Russell, who has been averaging 18.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists, has an $18.7 million player opt-out option for the next season. However, he could also become a free agent by turning down the option.
The fifth-seeded Eastern team, the Magic, could utilize Russell’s shooting and ball-handling skills to strengthen their offense alongside Paolo Banchero. Although there has been no confirmation about the swap, the possibilities cannot be omitted as more trade stories will unravel at the end of the season.
