Los Angeles will try to sign another well-known player.
With a 41-33 record going into Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers were ranked eighth in the Western Conference. In the last few weeks of the regular season, the team will have to weigh LeBron James’ health against playoff seeding, but the Lakers are expected to have both James and Anthony Davis playing at their best when they go into the postseason. This implies that Los Angeles can compete against any team, whether it is in a traditional seven-game series or the Play-In Tournament.
This Lakers team is not seen as a serious title contender, though. In contrast to real Western beasts like the Denver Nuggets or Minnesota Timberwolves, James and Davis continue to be one of the league’s best one-two punches, but the rest of the roster is not particularly dangerous. Unless Los Angeles has an extremely unlikely run for a title, they will need to address this issue in the upcoming summer. Again, the organisation must show LeBron that they are prepared to go above and beyond to surround him with genuine star power if they hope to keep him around for a few more years.
Therefore, it should not be shocking to learn that rumours circulating indicate the Lakers will be actively seeking out a third elite player to team up with James and Davis. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the team is “third star hunting” this summer and has identified Trae Young as one of several potential targets:
When asked whether the Lakers plan to pursue a third star, Buha responded, “Yes, they are.” And I have many sources to back up that assertion. This offseason, they are going third-star hunting. And we will see how that plays out in relation to D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell). We will see how it plays out, but in nearly every third-star trade, Austin [Reaves] must be lost. Who is accessible now? Trae Young is the one name I hear a lot. He has previously attended Laker playoff games. He is a customer of Klutch Sports. At the moment, that seems to be the most feasible option.
“What transpires between Kyrie Irving and Dallas? Do they go out of control? In the play-in, do they lose? Do they not win the first round? Does Dallas end up breaking that up? What is the market for Kyrie after that? Regarding Donovan Mitchell, there appears to be a rising amount of optimism and talk that he will remain in Cleveland. However, because he is from the greater New York region, the two New York teams have reportedly been favourites even if he moves.”
When compared to these other names, Young does appear to be the most likely to become a Laker. When Kyrie Irving asked to be traded out of Brooklyn last year, LeBron and the Lakers passed up the opportunity to join him on the big league train. Even though Donovan Mitchell does not love Cleveland, they will not part with him for pennies on the dollar because he still has one year left on his deal and there is the previously mentioned New York component.
Young is a client of Klutch Sports, which is always a consideration when it comes to the Lakers, as Buha mentioned above. The Atlanta Hawks, who are now on track to finish 10th overall in the East, are having another disappointing season under his leadership. Most significantly, Young has three more seasons left on his supermax contract. The Lakers would be pursuing a 25-year-old point guard with highlight-reel potential who will remain in Los Angeles until he is 28 and may choose to stay through his prime seasons if they choose to target Young.
The Hawks will naturally demand a king’s ransom in exchange for their franchise player. It is not at all certain that they will trade Young, even if they do so. While they may not have an abundance of assets, Los Angeles does have some good players, such as the previously mentioned Austin Reaves. In practice, trading for Young can be more difficult.
Because they are the Lakers, they are constantly on the lookout for stars. That is what they carry out. Though it seems like there will be more activity on that front this offseason than there has been in a long time,.