The Los Angeles Lakers have a mounting slew of uncertainty as they enter the offseason. From LeBron James mulling retirement to the way forward for Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers haven’t any scarcity of query marks. Yet, past LeBron’s enjoying future, the largest query mark could also be what Los Angeles chooses to do on the point guard place.
Despite some constructive returns early on, likelihood is D’Angelo Russell performed himself out of the Lakers’ future this postseason. The former No. 2 total choose was extremely sporadic, totaling simply 25 factors over the whole lot of the Conference Finals.
The rumblings of Kyrie Irving reuniting with LeBron in Los Angeles are unlikely to go away any time quickly, and when it comes to a pure basketball match, has its deserves. Still, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported again in April that the Dallas Mavericks are anticipated to re-sign the enigmatic celebrity, presumably leaving the Lakers scrambling to look elsewhere for assist at point guard.
Here are three potential various routes the Lakers may think about to fill their pending void:
Terry Rozier
The least “sexy” doable acquisition of the bunch, Rozier has been commonly linked to the Lakers up to now. Los Angeles even mentioned a multi-team deal final summer season that might have introduced Rozier to Southern California, per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.
Under contract via 2026, Rozier is an lively physique that might ship pleasure and grit to LA’s backcourt. He’s averaged 20-plus factors in two of the previous three seasons.
Fred VanVleet
Much like Rozier, VanVleet isn’t any stranger to rumors linking him to the Lakers. On Tuesday, Brian Windhorst added to that hypothesis, name-dropping the previous NBA champion as a possible various acquisition to Irving whereas showing on ESPN’s Get Up.
VanVleet is a dynamic scorer and playmaker who averaged a career-high 7.2 assists in 2022-23 however has regressed defensively in recent times. His relationship with Klutch Sports, which additionally represents LeBron and Anthony Davis, helps join the dots for a doable sign-and-trade state of affairs.
Trae Young
The pie-in the sky state of affairs, the Lakers have had “internal discussions” about what a “hypothetical trade offer” for Young would appear like, based on Jovan Buha of The Athletic—as any well-run staff ought to do once they consider a proficient participant is likely to be up for grabs.
The 24-year-old Young is a two-time All-Star and one of many league’s premier gamers at his place. His ball-handling abilities and scoring prowess would take the quick stress off of LeBron, making his addition probably the most impactful hypothetical state of affairs on this checklist, albeit probably the most far-fetched.
Young is beneath contract for at the least three extra seasons, eliminating any true urgency for Atlanta to make a transfer. With that mentioned his run-ins with the Hawks brass have been well-documented. Sources instructed Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer in April that the entrance workplace in Atlanta has “the green light from ownership to do whatever it wants to with the roster,” together with any commerce alternatives involving Young.
So, you are saying there’s an opportunity?
Discussion about this post