The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled mightily this season. The Lakers' talent-laden roster, while hit hard at times by both COVID-19 and injuries, has only been good enough to earn them seventh place in the Western Conference so far. That is certainly not going to play in Los Angeles, which has opened up trade rumor mill for the Lakers. The Athletic's NBA insider John Hollinger recently named three likely Lakers' trade targets.
Surely they are making calls about guards who can play off the ball, such as Portland’s Norman Powell, San Antonio’s Derrick White and Boston’s Marcus Smart, but they may need to set their sights a bit lower.
While not huge names, these are some intriguing Lakers' trade targets. The Lakers have three players on their roster with usage rates north of 25 percent: LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
It makes perfect sense, as Hollinger outlines, for the Lakers to target off-ball guards who can shoot and defend. Portland Trail Blazers guard Norman Powell, who was dealt by the Toronto Raptors at last year's deadline, would help Los Angeles space the floor, given his 40.5 percent shooting from three-point range.
While not the shooter that Powell is, San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White would help give the Lakers some scoring punch off the bench.
Perhaps the most intriguing Lakers' trade target mentioned by Hollinger is Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics. Los Angeles' biggest problem this year has been their awful defense. Enter Smart, one of the league's premier perimeter defenders, who is averaging 2.0 steals per game despite his streaky shooting.
It's unclear if Portland, San Antonio or Boston would even be willing to deal the likes of Powell, White or Smart. However, if they do, they would make pretty sensible Lakers' trade targets, as pointed out by John Hollinger of The Athletic.