Before the start of the regular season, it was reported that GM Rob Pelinka wanted to see the Lakers for the first 30 games of the season to make an evaluation. He wanted to give his team some time to see where they were at and what they needed. On Christmas Day, the Lakers are playing their 30th game of the season.
What this period showed Lakers fans and, hopefully, the front office is that this team is not any different than the team that lost in the first round last year. They are nowhere near championship contention and need significant roster upgrades to be a dangerous postseason team.
So far, there has been no indication that the Lakers are interested in a third star. Most of the names associated with the team have been role players like Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Robert Williams III, and Jonas Valanciunas. Even though these players would be upgrades over some of the rotation players for the Lakers, they don’t move the needle enough.
A trade for a star like De’Aaron Fox, however, absolutely would. The Sacramento Kings’ All-NBA guard could reportedly be available soon. Fox’s agent is Rich Paul, making a potential move to the Lakers more probable.
In that scenario, the Lakers would have to send a ton of draft capital and valuable assets to the Kings.
De’Aaron Fox
Austin Reaves would almost have to be included as the player with the most trade value for the Lakers. Max Christie and Rui Hachimura are other players who the Kings could have an interest in. In addition, the Lakers send 2029 and 2031 first-round picks while including pick swaps.
That is close to the absolute most the Lakers could offer. Pelinka would prefer to save some of these assets to make other moves, but the Kings may not be interested in parting ways with their 27-year-old franchise player for less. If this is what it takes to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis with another star, so be it. The Lakers don’t have another way to become title contenders.
