The Los Angeles Lakers look great so far. They're no OKC at this point, but at 17-6 and the 2nd seed in the West, they're off to a terrific start to the season.
Luka Dončic is playing like an MVP candidate through the first quarter of the season, averaging 35 PPG (1st in NBA), 9.2 RPG (T-13th in NBA), and 9.1 APG (3rd in NBA). With the way he's playing in his first comfortable season in LA, it makes you think.
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It makes you think about going all in on a 26-year-old superstar at the peak of his abilities, who's only one season removed from a finals run.
When you look at this Lakers team, it has two major flaws. One being defensive ceiling and overall athletic ability, and two, the lack of scoring outside of the starting unit.
During The Bill Simmons' podcast, Simmons suggested a trade that would not only fix those two problems, but would vault the Lakers into true contender status.
Simmons suggests the Lakers trade for Pelicans Herb Jones to pair with Luka Dončić
Of all the players in the NBA currently, excluding stars, I'm not sure there's a better fit alongside Luka Dončić than the New Orleans Pelicans' Herb Jones.
In Bill Simmons' podcast, while talking about the Pelicans at the 9:40 mark, he suggests trading Herb Jones to the Lakers. What a match made in heaven that would be.
Los Angeles could get it done fairly easily as well. All it would take to match the salary would be Dalton Knecht (young piece to develop), Maxi Kleber (solid role piece on a non-contending team), and the team's 2031 first-round pick.
Landing Jones would do wonders for this Lakers team.
One, they'd finally have a true number one point of attack defender outside of 31-year-old Marcus Smart, who, while great, has been battling injuries most of the year. That, mixed with his infusion of athleticism into the team, would be great.
Two, they'd be able to fix their other issue regarding bench scoring. Herb Jones would most certainly start, likely sending Rui Hachimura to the bench. As much as Lakers fans and I both love Rui, his scoring punch would be much better suited to the bench unit. They need it badly.
The Pelicans are not close to contending, and the Lakers feel like they're one piece away. If I'm Rob Pelinka, I make that call yesterday.
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