Lakers News: Insider Reveals LA Ingredients Expected To Depart In A Trade

These asking prices are high.

A 16-15 start for your Los Angeles Lakers has made for a series of potential trade rumors.

Amongst the names that have been tied to LA include Chicago Bulls All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine and Atlanta Hawks All-Star guard Dejounte Murray – with the latter picking up traction in the past couple of days.

As with any trade talks, the discourse surrounding which pieces would depart Los Angeles have become a big issue, as fans and analysts alike can find a number of reasons to deal/retain players like Max Christie, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura.

It might be a bit simpler than that, however, as NBA Insider Shams Charania recently reported that Austin Reaves and Max Christie are “who teams will want.” Here’s the full excerpt:

“They have one first-round pick they can trade now, or they could wait until draft time, and they’ll have three first-round picks to trade,” Charania said. “So, any deal that the Lakers wanna pursue for a star player is gonna most likely have to include the names of guys like Austin Reaves, Max Christie — that’s who teams will want. The Lakers obviously have shown no inclination of moving Austin Reaves, don’t wanna move Austin Reaves, but those are the types of players that teams will ask for.”

Shams’ rationale for Christie/Reaves being involved in a deal makes a lot of sense, as LA only has one first-round pick. This poses a challenge as it pertains to providing value in a potential acquisition, as without giving up Christie or Reaves, the Lakers would only be able to move D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura (along with one first-round pick) which won’t net nearly the level of player that the Lakers need.

Another major issue worth nothing is that the Lakers aren’t the only team interested in Dejounte Murray, as Ian Begley of SNY writes that the New York Knicks “view Murray as an ‘ideal’ trade target,” going as far as trying to deal for him back in 2022 when Atlanta won the sweepstakes.

The challenge here is that the Knicks have far, far more talent than the Lakers as it pertains to traceable assets. Players like Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes have more trade value than any non-LeBron, AD, and Reaves players on LA.

If Murray is off the table, expect focus to be shifted towards Zach LaVine, who is seeing less interest from other teams across the league, making the Lakers’ acquisition process easier.