NBA Trade Rumors: 4 Trade Targets For LA Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers had a fairly uneventful offseason on the player side of things, despite constant rumors of potential trades. Be it for a floor spacer or a true center, the Lakers will eventually need to make some moves to help out new head coach JJ Redick's roster.

To that end, we present four potential trade targets.

Let's start with the one that would probably make the most sense:

Jerami Grant, Portland Trail Blazers

Treyvon Hastings of Hoops Habit calls this the most "realistic" trade target for the Lakers. A true complementary scorer, Grant has averaged close to 21 points per game over the last four seasons, while also shooting over 40% from three-point land the past two years.

He signed a 5-year, $160 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers early in the summer of 2023 to act as Damian Lillard's right-hand man. We all know how that turned out, as shortly thereafter that summer, Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks and an all-out rebuild was put in order in Portland. Having the 30-year-old Grant continuing to eat up an average of $32 million per season on a rebuilding team makes no sense whatsoever.

Grant would open up the floor in LA for LeBron James and Anthony Davis, with his propensity to hit from the outside, as well as take some of the scoring pressure off them.

But the Blazers are said to want a pair of first-round picks in exchange for Grant in any trade, so this one will take some work.

Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls

Yes, he's another obvious fit as far as spreading the floor with his three-point shooting and his ability to score the ball. And the Bulls are looking to move him. But with his massive contract ($45 million average over the next three seasons) and somewhat troubling injury history, Hastings calls his trade a "nightmare" scenario for the Lakers. In addition, the Purple & Gold would have to surrender a huge chunk of their rotation to make the salaries match for a trade.

Jonas Valanciunas, Washington Wizards

Center has been a prime position of need for the Lakers, and according to insider Shams Charania, they are exploring adding a big man. New head coach JJ Redick would love to allow AD to move to the 'four' much more frequently. But JV can't be traded until January 15th due to the free agent deal he signed with the Washington Wizards this past summer. If they haven't gotten themselves a satisfactory big man in the pivot by then, expect the Lakers to have a look at this around the trade deadline.

Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

Hastings presents this as the "most unlikely" trade target for LA, though his addition as a true point guard who could facilitate wonderfully for LeBron and AD and take a lot of the playmaking pressure off, would be a "dream" for them.

The three-time All-Star has averaged 25.5 points and 9.5 assists in his career, and would certainly be a perfect fit for the Lakers. But not only would this be a difficult deal to pull off, one has to wonder if the Atlanta Hawks are still looking to unload Young after already dealing off their other star point guard, Dejounte Murray?