The Los Angeles Lakers’ search for a starting-level wing or forward this summer has thus far been fruitless. They have had a well-documented interest in Jonathan Kuminga, but other than that, their options are few and far between as far as players who can contribute on both ends of the floor.
One reason their options are few and far between is their limited trade assets. The Lakers currently have three second-round draft picks and one pick swap, plus the contracts of Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, Bronny James and possibly Jaden Hardy and Jake LaRavia to offer in a potential trade.
Sai Mohan of Heavy Sports proposed an interesting three-team trade that would give Los Angeles a young and intriguing wing in Josh Green of the Minnesota Timberwolves. In this deal, it would give up Knecht and LaRavia to the Houston Rockets, the Rockets would send Clint Capela to Minnesota and Minnesota would ship Green to the Lakers.
“Green has often been called “a freak athlete” by his peers, but the Australian is a well-rounded player with a lot to offer. Notably, he’s shot an impressive 38.7% from three in his six seasons, including a career-high 42% for the Charlotte Hornets last year. The 25-year-old Green was acquired by the Minnesota Timberwolves at the start of the offseason as part of the Naz Reid trade, but could be on the move again, given that he’s on an expiring $14.6M salary heading into the 2026-27 season.”
Green, who is 6-foot-6, is not a scoring threat (he has a career average of 6.3 points in 21 minutes a game over his six NBA seasons), but as Mohan mentioned, he has become a very good 3-point shooter, and his volume is very solid, as he attempted 5.5 treys per 36 minutes this past season.
As the No. 18 pick in the 2020 draft, Green spent his first four seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, which allowed him to log plenty of time alongside Luka Doncic.
“In his four seasons with the Mavericks, Green started 62 games, averaging 9.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists while making 1.3 threes per game at a clip of 38%,” Mohan wrote. “Green also earned the reputation of a tough defender, becoming a favorite of Doncic.
“So much so that Doncic called Green ‘the toughest Australian’ he had ever played with or against during the All-Star break earlier this year. That’s some high praise, given that he has gone up against the likes of Ben Simmons, Patty Mills and Joe Ingles.”
The problem with this mock trade is that the Lakers would be giving up two players who could be serviceable on another team for a player in Green who wouldn’t be good enough to solve their need for a starting wing. He would simply be another option for them as far as a 3-and-D player off the bench, joining Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams.
Green also played 66% of his minutes last season, so he would potentially take minutes away from rookie guard Cameron Carr, a player who appears to have lots of potential and may need some playing time right away.
But Green does have a solid 6-foot-10 wingspan and clocked in with a 39.5-inch vertical leap during the NBA scouting combine just prior to the 2020 draft, so he could be deserving of a look from the Lakers.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Mock three-team trade gives Lakers young, intriguing 3-and-D wing
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
