Lakers Have Trade Interest in 2 Brooklyn Nets

As we head into the new year, we’re just a little over a month away from the trade deadline, which means that talks are about to get serious. The latest rumours have the Los Angeles Lakers looking at boosting their 3-and-D chops with an eye on two Brooklyn Nets wings.

The Lakers could show interest in Royce O'Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith, per @jovanbuha

“Those are two guys the Lakers have had interest in dating back to last offseason and even last trade deadline. I know that those are two guys they would have interest in bringing in.”

(Via… pic.twitter.com/4XjEj2vqvH

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 28, 2023

Per Jovan Buha of The Athletic, “(Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neal) are two guys the Lakers have had interest in dating back to last offseason and even last trade deadline. I know that those are two guys they would have interest in bringing in.”

The Lakers have lost six of their last eight games since winning the In-Season Tournament, and are looking for an energetic boost to their wing defense.

“I know that this is something they’ve been weighing and really it’s been one of the big questions for the Lakers as an organization over the last few years has been do we chase the third star or do we go for the role player upgrades… I think 3-and-D wing has really been the biggest issue for this team maybe since the championship,” writes Buha. “They haven’t been able to replace that since the Russ (Westbrook) trade with KCP, Kuz, Green, even Alex Caruso as more of a 3-and-D guard.

“They just haven’t had those types of guys consistently. It’s always been their one flaw.”

Those two-way role players that Buha mentions, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green, are the type of players that they need to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis with.

Whether they have enough to offer the Nets for one of Finney-Smith or O’Neal remains to be seen.

Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports