When it comes to upgrading their roster, the Los Angeles Lakers may not have a lot of options in free agency. A lot of the best outside free agents this offseason will be restricted free agents, and since the Lakers have their own free agents they will want to keep, they may not be able to make big enough offers for those outside players.
That means Los Angeles may have to turn to the trade market to improve its roster. Unless it considers moving Austin Reaves, it may be out of luck as far as making a needle-moving trade. But Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report proposed a trade that could take L.A. to the next level and wouldn’t involve Reaves.
“The Los Angeles Lakers receive: Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Yves Missi.
“The New Orleans Pelicans receive: Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, Adou Thiero, Dalton Knecht, 2026 No. 25, 2031 first-rounder, 2033 first-rounder
“The two teams could agree to a deal before the draft, eventually executed on July 6 after the moratorium. Both teams lock in first-apron hard caps at $200.5 million. That’s less of an issue for the Pelicans, who avoid luxury taxes. Los Angeles faces more of a challenge to flesh out the rest of its roster, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to absorb Jones’ salary.
“… In this scenario, Los Angeles gets a talented, young scoring forward in Murphy, a strong perimeter defender in Jones (who, outside of one strong season, is an inconsistent shooter) and a young center to develop in Missi.
“The Pelicans get two interesting prospects in Thiero and Knecht, three firsts, and a couple of veterans on relatively short contracts.”
The Lakers will only have two future first-round draft picks available to trade this offseason, but in this trade, they would be receiving three very serviceable young players, all of whom can contribute in multiple areas.
Murphy would instantly replace Reaves as their No. 2 or No. 3 scoring option, depending on what happens with LeBron James. The 6-foot-8, 25-year-old is the type of athletic two-way wing the Lakers badly need, and he averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals a game this season.
Jones, who is 6-foot-7, would give L.A. another plus defender at the wing position. Missi is an interesting 22-year-old prospect, as he has shown the potential to rebound and block shots in his two NBA seasons. He stands 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, and he registered 5.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 19.7 minutes a game this season, and he is the type of lob threat Luka Doncic loves to play with.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Writer proposes non-Austin Reaves trade that would transform Lakers
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
