While most pundits believe the Lakers’ greatest roster need is for an elite starting 3&D wing, there’s a good argument a quality starting rim protector or lethal volume 3-point shooting guard could be equally as important.
Fortunately, a bigger legitimate 3&D wing is not the only roster upgrade that would give the Lakers a better chance to compete for a championship this season while they wait until next summer for a complete rebuild. Besides a starting small forward to shut down wing scorers, the Lakers also need a starting center to protect the rim and space the floor and a lethal high volume 3-point shooter to transform the offense into a juggernaut.
Sunday night’s Knicks game was a harsh reminder of how bad Rob Pelinka has been as a general manager in embracing analytics and repairing the Lakers’ broken 3-point shooting schemes and poor rim protection rotation.
Right now the Lakers 35.1 3-point attempts per game and their 4.8 blocks per game rank 23rd out of the 30 teams in the league. In their losses, the Lakers 34.5 3PA per game and 3.4 blocks per game plummeted to 29th.
The persistent failure of Rob Pelinka to make impact moves every trade deadline or offseason is prima facia proof of his malpractice and ineptness as the Lakers’ primary decision maker. Mark Walter needs to fire him.
The Lakers want to be able to offer 3 tradable first round picks on draft day next summer so the strategy for these 4 trades is to include their 2031 unprotected first but require a protected first round pick in return.
The Lakers are consistently losing 3-point shooting and points-in-the-paint differentials by 10 points per game. Here are 4 out-of-the-box trades that dramatically improve the Lakers’ 3-point shooting and points-in-the-paint.
1. BROOKLYN NETS’ MICHAEL PORTER JR
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Michael Porter Jr, SF, 27, 6′ 10″, 7′ 0″, 218 lbs, 2-yrs $79.1M
25.6/7.3/3.2/0.3/1.1 in 33.1 mpg. 3P->3.8/9.6/39.8%
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MPJ could be a ‘stealth’ Lakers’ starting small forward target if they shift to fixing their 3-point shooting woes and the Nets agree to trade him and a protected pick for expiring contracts and the Lakers 2031 unprotected first.
At 6′ 10″ with a 7′ 0″ wingspan, Michael Porter, Jr. could be the ultimate ‘stealth’ candidate to be the Lakers’ starting small forward due to his deadly volume 3-point shooting and sneaky positional size and length defensively.
Frankly, Michael’s impressive positional size and length could be exactly what the Lakers need to stop the midrange jumpers opposing wing scorers consistently take and make over Lakers’ small guard-sized wing defenders.
When you consider the Lakers likely targets next summer are going to be defense first players like Walker Kessler and Peyton Watson, trading for MPJ and still having 3 picks to offer next summer would be perfect.
The vision is a Lakers’ starting lineup for next season with Luka Doncic at point guard, Austin Reaves at shooting guard, Michael Porter, Jr. at small forward, Peyton Watson at power forward, and Walker Kessler at center.
One of the major disappointments so far this season has been the Lakers inability to transform a 5-man lineup led by Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves into the legitimate offensive juggernaut they expected.
Trading for Michael Porter, Jr. looks like the kind of ‘stealth’ surprise move analytics-driven executives like Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi would pull off for the Dodgers. It could be the big move to unlock Luka Doncic.
Basketball is still won by putting the ball in the basket and the LA Lakers would be wise to focus on dramatically upgrading their 3-point shooting by trading for lethal volume 3-point shooter extraordinaire Michael Porter, Jr.
2. MILWAUKEE BUCKS’ MYLES TURNER
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Myles Turner, CE, 29, 6′ 11″, 6′ 9″, 7″4″, 250 lbs, 4-yrs $108.7M
12.8/5.5/1.6/1.6/0.7 in 28.7 mpg. 3P->2.2/5.7/38.8%
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With the Bucks now committed to trading Giannis, the Lakers should offer Milwaukee their 2031 unprotected first round pick and expiring contracts for center Myles Turner and Portland’s 2030 protected first round pick.
The Lakers have long coveted Myles Turner, who’s the prototype for the modern two-way NBA center, a big who can protect the rim and defend in space on defense and create spacing vertically and horizontally on offense.
Key element of this trade is the swapping of the Lakers 2031 unprotected pick for a Blazers’ 2030 protected pick, which still allows the Lakers to be able to offer 3 first round picks in a mega trade on draft day next summer.
With Mark Walter already hiring Dodgers’ executives Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi to help the transition, the Lakers are finally going to fully embrace 3-point shooting and data-driven decision making of analytics.
The Lakers saw how having a center who can shoot the three helps Luka with spacing when they played Drew Timme. Having an established floor stretcher like Myles Turner would dramatically improve LA’s 3-point game.
Still only 29, Turner would be a perfect long-term fit with Luka’s game and timeline. The Lakers could have a tough sell to convince the Bucks to give them a protected first round pick for their 2031 unprotected first rounder.
Myles Turner’s ability to protect the rim and stretch the floor are perfect long-term fits for Luka Doncic and the Lakers and a perfect way to give the Lakers a long-shot opportunity to legitimately compete for a title this year.
The Lakers have had a broken center rotation since winning the 2020 championship. Trading for versatile Myles Turner could finally give the Lakers their modern starting offensive and defensive center of the future.
3. ATLANTA HAWKS’ NICKEIL ALEXANDER-WALKER
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Nickeil Alexander-Walker, SG, 27, 6′ 5″, 6′ 9″, 205 lbs, 2-yrs $31.1M
20.3/3.5/3.4/0.6/1.1 in 33.0 mpg. 3P->3.1/8.2/38.4%
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The Lakers should offer Rui Hachimura and their 2031 unprotected first round pick for the Buck’s 2027 protected first round pick and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the ideal two-way 3&D backcourt mate for Luka Doncic.
The 27-year old Nickeil Alexander-Walker is an elite two-way player. On offense, he’s a dead-eye volume 3-point shooter who takes over 8 threes per game while on defense he blocks 0.6 shots and makes 1.1 steals per game.
The Lakers rank 23rd in the NBA in 3-point takes and makes. After trading for NAW, the Lakers would have 3 volume 3-point shooters as Doncic takes 10.4 3PA’s, Reaves 7.4 3PA’s, and Alexander-Walker 8.2 3PA’s per game.
For the Hawks, they get a lethal high percentage 3-point shooter with size in Hachimura plus another high value first round pick to use to get Giannis or another superstar player this summer to elevate the Hawks into the elite. First round picks are becoming more and more valuable under the new CBA with protections and how long before picks mature determining how valuable the draft capital is. Unprotected distant picks have most value.
While mostly playing shooting guard, Nickeil can also defend point guards and small forwards. He’s a better defender than Austin Reaves so he can defend the tougher of the shooting guard or small forward to help Austin.
The Lakers chances of stealing Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Hawks is dependent upon how badly the Hawks want unprotected distant first round picks to put together a winning trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Lakers need another elite 3&D shooting guard like Nickeil Alexander-Walker who takes and makes high volume, high percentage 3-point shots and can defend multiple positions with high energy and physicality.
4. DALLAS MAVERICKS’ DANIEL GAFFORD
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Daniel Gafford, CE, 27, 6′ 10″, 7′ 2″, 265 lbs, 4-yrs $68.7M
8.0/6.4/0.9/1.2/0.7 in 21.0 mpg. 3P->0.0/0.0/0.0%
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Getting the Mavs to agree to another trade with the Lakers won’t be easy but LA is willing to trade their 2031 unprotected first plus DeAndre Ayton and Jake LaRavia for Daniel Gafford and the Mavs’ protected 2027 first.
Ironically, finding a trade that works when the Mavs are hard capped at the second apron is extremely lucky. Usually, teams hard capped by the second apron have to involve a third team in order to consummate most trades.
This is an unusual trade that’s a tough win for both Lakers and Mavericks. Los Angeles solves its center problems, gets Luka’s preferred center, and still ends up with three first round picks on draft day next summer.
For Gafford, it’s an opportunity to get away from the rebuilding Mavs in Dallas and rejoin Luka Doncic in Los Angeles. LA giving up both their 2031 unprotected first round pick and young stud Jake LaRavia is a high price.
The Lakers simply cannot ignore an opportunity to get out of the dead end situation with Deandre Ayton and get a center in Daniel Gafford who’s a better fit as a rim protector and vertical lob threat than Deandre Ayton.
The chance to get another unprotected Lakers’ first round pick and a hot young stud like Jake LaRavia could be enough for the rebuilding Mavericks to swallow their pride and take what Lakers were willing to pay for Gafford.
Bottom line, the Mavs should feel a lot better about the Luka trade with two valuable unprotected Lakers’ first rounders and two promising young studs who are perfect fits for Cooper Flagg in Max Christie and Jake LaRavia.
Convincing Dallas to trade with LA again won’t be easy but a trade of the Lakers 2031 unprotected first, Deandre Ayton, and Jake LaRavia for Daniel Gafford and the Mavs protected 2027 first could make both teams better.
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