Lakers News: Three Trail Blazers Trades To Upgrade LA
At present, your Los Angeles Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers, in Portland by a slim margin, 37-34, near the top of their game's second quarter tonight.
With the February 9th trade deadline now just a few weeks away, would the 21-24 Trail Blazers, losers of seven of their last ten games, be willing to punt a second straight season, even with Damian Lillard still performing at an All-Star level? The team doesn't have a clear path to contention at present, though it does have some tradable deals to at least improve its roster somewhat as it fights for a play-in tournament spot and likely first-round playoff exit.
The Lakers, owners of a similar 21-25 record, may be looking to make marginal upgrades at the trade deadline, and could be there to pounce should Portland decide to add draft assets instead of wins down the season's home stretch.
It seems unlikely that the Lakers would do something drastic and, say, trade Anthony Davis for future draft equity, but it also is seeming increasingly likely that the team is similarly hesitant to offload as many future assets as possible to really maximize this year's roster. Instead, the Lakers appear primed to make upgrades around the margins, which is fine, but also probably means their ceiling will be a first-round exit.
Here are a few intriguing trade scenarios worth the front office's consideration, if the Trail Blazers decide to open for business:
3. Lakers trade Kendrick Nunn, Troy Brown Jr., two future second-round picks for Gary Payton II.
Can LA get away with not including a future first-round pick for Payton, who due to injuries has been unavailable for most of the season? Alternately, were Portland to demand a first-rounder instead, would the Lakers be open to offloading a top-20 protected future first? Brown has been a surprisingly valuable addition to the incredibly undersized Lakers this season, and his loss would necessitate a bigger role for Juan Toscano-Anderson. Would JTA be up to that challenge? Or could the Lakers get away with include his identical veteran's minimum contract instead of Brown's in this deal?
Payton, a terrific defender, would really help shore up one of LA's big weaknesses this season. He would also enable the Lakers to minimize Patrick Beverley's minutes. Though Pat Bev is one of the team's better defensive guards this year, he's no longer his All-Defensive self, and given his offensive limitations is often a liability on that end of the court.
2. Lakers trade Patrick Beverley, lottery-protected first-round draft pick, future second-rounder for Josh Hart.
As we've seen, the Lakers love bringing back former Lakers. In 2017 (the first draft of the Rob Pelinka-Magic Johnson front office's tenure) LA traded for the draft rights to the wing out of Villanova and (newly-returned) center Thomas Bryant with the Jazz in exchange for No. 28 pick Tony Bradley, now the fifth-center on the Chicago Bulls. Hart was subsequently shipped out to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of the team's package for Anthony Davis.
He has been a helpful 3-and-D role player for Portland this season. The 6'5" small forward is averaging 9.5 points on .498/.330/.728 shooting splits, 8.3 rebounds, four assists and 1.1 steals per game. Trading Beverley's expiring contract for Hart's deal is not without its own issues, as Hart has a $13 million player option for the 2023-24 NBA season. Would he gamble on himself in a weak free agent class this summer, or would he opt for the security of a higher annual salary than he'll probably command on the open market? He would be a great fit for a Lakers team overloaded with small guards, but he would probably cost at least a lottery-protected first-round draft pick.
1. Lakers trade Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and Troy Brown Jr., the team's 2029 first-round pick and a future second for Jerami Grant and Drew Eubanks.
The Lakers are, as you well know, tiny. LA could ditch two of the team's underperforming guards to bolster its front line in a major way, but it would cost them the most draft equity of any of these deals.
Jerami Grant, in theory, would be a great fit for Los Angeles. The 6'8" combo forward can shoot from everywhere, and is a versatile defender capable of guarding shooting guards through power forwards. He can also help alleviate a bit of the scoring burden for the 38-year-old LeBron James, and could play alongside LBJ either at the three or four-spot. The real question is, would Portland be willing to part with Grant? My argument would be: they're going nowhere fast with this current roster, and the Lakers' future 2029 first-round draft pick is likely to be incredibly valuable if left unprotected. 6'10" Drew Eubanks would be a nice piece to give LA legitimate size at the backup power forward spot (with apologies to the 6'6" Brown and JTA).
