Win-Now Trade for Los Angeles, Recommends by NBA Insider

 

The Lakers are in a challenging position this trade season. Most teams 13-20 and the 13th seed in the West won’t be looking for win-now moves. But most teams don’t have an almost 38-year-old superstar named LeBron James.

 

The Lakers can’t afford to waste another season of LeBron, so they can’t stand this trade season. However, with the release of LeBron’s co-star Anthony Davis, after he played like the No. 1 option in this group, there is no correct answer as to what to do.

 

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that the team may want to avoid parting with their future first-round picks, as they want to avoid digging another hole for their team based on their past drafting mistakes of the roster. However, this is the Lakers, and they may have to go with LeBron at the end of his career. So, the guys at Bleacher Report came up with a blockbuster win-now move for the Lakers. Here is the proposal:

 

Los Angeles Lakers received: Chris Boucher, Gary Trent Jr., Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors received: Max Christie, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Russell Westbrook, 2026 first-round pick swap, 2027 first-round pick (unprotected), 2028 first-round pick swap, 2029 first-round pick (unprotected)

 

The Lakers give up. Max Christie is the only real player they have the potential to give up. The 19-year-old has been solid in a limited time this year & has shown a lot of promise at a young age. After him, it’s Juan Toscano-Anderson, who fell into the rotation, and Russell Westbrook, who is playing better, but it won’t be challenging to participate in a win-now move.

 

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However, after those years, there are choices and lots of them. Unprotected first-round picks don’t give up quickly, and the Lakers will move two of them in 2027 and 2029. Then, they add first-round pick swaps in 2026 and 2028, and if you don’t mind, The pick swaps are essential. The Pelicans currently own the right to trade with the Lakers this season. So, yes, they are important.

 

The Lakers will get three excellent rotational pieces for the return: Chris Boucher, Gary Trent Jr., and Fred VanVleet.

 

VanVleet is the best of the bunch. An All-Star last season, he averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game this year. He’s a great point guard and an above-average shooter and would be an excellent addition to LeBron and AD.

 

Speaking of good things, Trent Jr. would be a solid addition to the Lakers lineup as a 3-and-D guard. Trent Jr. averages 16.6 points per game on 43.1% shooting from the field and 33.9% from three. Last year, however, he shot an impressive 38.3% from three-point land.

 

Finally, there’s Boucher, who will add a ton of defense and length to the middle of the Lakers’ lineup. He is averaging a little over 10 points, six rebounds a game, and just under a block. But he’s shown some excellent periods of high-level defense in his career and would be a solid one-two punch with AD and an even better replacement if AD continues to miss time.

 

This move would be a win-now for the Lakers and mortgage the future for the present. But a lineup with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the three Raptors would be powerful and could make this team a contender in a crowded Western Conference. It might be their best bet if the Lakers want to go all-in.

 

Win-Now Trade for Los Angeles, Recommends by NBA Insider

 

The Lakers are in a challenging position this trade season. Most teams 13-20 and the 13th seed in the West won’t be looking for win-now moves. But most teams don’t have an almost 38-year-old superstar named LeBron James.

 

The Lakers can’t afford to waste another season of LeBron, so they can’t stand this trade season. However, with the release of LeBron’s co-star Anthony Davis, after he played like the No. 1 option in this group, there is no correct answer as to what to do.

 

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that the team may want to avoid parting with their future first-round picks, as they want to avoid digging another hole for their team based on their past drafting mistakes of the roster. However, this is the Lakers, and they may have to go with LeBron at the end of his career. So, the guys at Bleacher Report came up with a blockbuster win-now move for the Lakers. Here is the proposal:

 

Los Angeles Lakers received: Chris Boucher, Gary Trent Jr., Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors received: Max Christie, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Russell Westbrook, 2026 first-round pick swap, 2027 first-round pick (unprotected), 2028 first-round pick swap, 2029 first-round pick (unprotected)

 

The Lakers give up. Max Christie is the only real player they have the potential to give up. The 19-year-old has been solid in a limited time this year & has shown a lot of promise at a young age. After him, it’s Juan Toscano-Anderson, who fell into the rotation, and Russell Westbrook, who is playing better, but it won’t be challenging to participate in a win-now move.

 

 

However, after those years, there are choices and lots of them. Unprotected first-round picks don’t give up quickly, and the Lakers will move two of them in 2027 and 2029. Then, they add first-round pick swaps in 2026 and 2028, and if you don’t mind, The pick swaps are essential. The Pelicans currently own the right to trade with the Lakers this season. So, yes, they are important.

 

The Lakers will get three excellent rotational pieces for the return: Chris Boucher, Gary Trent Jr., and Fred VanVleet.

 

VanVleet is the best of the bunch. An All-Star last season, he averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game this year. He’s a great point guard and an above-average shooter and would be an excellent addition to LeBron and AD.

 

Speaking of good things, Trent Jr. would be a solid addition to the Lakers lineup as a 3-and-D guard. Trent Jr. averages 16.6 points per game on 43.1% shooting from the field and 33.9% from three. Last year, however, he shot an impressive 38.3% from three-point land.

 

Finally, there’s Boucher, who will add a ton of defense and length to the middle of the Lakers’ lineup. He is averaging a little over 10 points, six rebounds a game, and just under a block. But he’s shown some excellent periods of high-level defense in his career and would be a solid one-two punch with AD and an even better replacement if AD continues to miss time.

 

This move would be a win-now for the Lakers and mortgage the future for the present. But a lineup with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the three Raptors would be powerful and could make this team a contender in a crowded Western Conference. It might be their best bet if the Lakers want to go all-in.