Latest Report on Potential Lakers Trade for Chicago Bulls Star

The latest trade report between the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls

Jan 2, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3), forward LeBron James (23), forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2) and center Christian Koloko (10) on the bench in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

With Anthony Davis and LeBron James on the team and their influence on the roster, the Los Angeles Lakers were bound to be active ahead of the NBA trade deadline regardless of where they stood by this point in the season. Factor in Davis' recent interview with ESPN's Shams Charania, in which he said the team needs to get a center, Rob Pelinka, and the Lakers front office will be hard at work to appease their stars.

While Utah's Walker Kessler has been a reported target for the Lakers over the last few weeks, the franchise reportedly is pivoting to other options to get a deal done.

The Los Angeles Lakers are not expected to show interest in centers such as Nikola Vucevic and Jakob Poeltl on the trade market, per @TheSteinLine

“League sources stressed over the weekend that the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either Vučević or Toronto's Jakob… pic.twitter.com/EyZjgZuJ0L

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 27, 2025

Per NBA correspondent Marc Stein on his Substack, "league sources stressed over the weekend that the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either Vučević or Toronto's Jakob Poeltl ... while oft-suggested Lakers target Walter Kessler of the Utah Jazz is believed to as close to unavailable as it gets with less than 10 days to go before the trade deadline on Feb. 6 at 3 PM ET."

Currently sitting just over $3 million under the second apron threshold, the Lakers have some work to do to avoid reaching that threshold in a trade and making an impactful deal in the process.

"Adding Vučević would be very pricey for the Lakers beyond Chicago's desire to extract a first-round pick in return; absorbing the $21.5 million owed to Vučević in 2025-26 is daunting financially for a team that projects to have Davis and LeBron James taking up two-thirds of next season's salary cap and has strained to stay below the second apron this season."

The Chicago Bulls are open for business, and Matas Buzelis is the only untouchable player on the roster, per @JCowleyHoops pic.twitter.com/Aw3cEMq9RE

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 27, 2025

As the Lakers are limited in draft capital and valuable trade pieces, they could settle for a lesser player than Vucevic or Kessler to add center depth to the roster. Regardless of what happens, it appears Chicago will be active in the trade market throughout the coming days.

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