The 15th of December officially marked the day that players who signed free agent contracts in the offseason could be traded. With the G League Winter showcase approaching, that’s usually the time that NBA trade winds really start blowing. For teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, this portion of the season serves as time to really evaluate the roster and decide on what the approach will be as the NBA trade deadline draws near.
The Lakers have gotten off to a solid start to the season at 18-7. Currently, that’s good enough for the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings. By most accounts, the West, and the NBA in general, is a one-horse race with the Oklahoma City Thunder seemingly in a class of their own.
But the point of the game is to win, and to win, teams need to build rosters capable of competing against the Thunder. It’s step-by-step though. The Thunder built their team through smart drafting and shrewd roster moves over the year. The Lakers aren’t going to make a trade this deadline that immediately vaults them into OKC status.
However, they can make a deal that gets them closer to the level. At Lakers practice on Tuesday, head coach JJ Redick gave a simple blueprint for playing alongside the team’s star in Luka Doncic. “Defend and shoot threes,’ he said.
With that said, here is the one player the Lakers should trade for by the NBA’s deadline this season.
Lakers should trade for Keon Ellis
The Lakers have been linked to several 3&D players such as Andrew Wiggins and Herb Jones, going back to last season. The only issue with those players is that they likely will require an extremely high asking price, and the Lakers don’t necessarily have the assets to get a trade done for either. That, and in the case of Jones, it’s not even certain that the New Orleans Pelicans are willing to entertain a trade.
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So if the Lakers want to improve their defense and continue building a contending roster that’s feasible in terms of assets and salary cap, they need to set their sights on a player a little more attainable. That’s where Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis comes in.
The Kings have floundered as the 2025-26 season has reached the quarter mark. They are reportedly going to be sellers at the NBA trade deadline, with Ellis one of the players likely available. After earning a standard deal due to his strong play while on a two-way contract, Ellis’ playing time and role have fluctuated even amid the transition from Mike Brown to Doug Christie.
But when Ellis has received regular playing time, he’s been among the better defensive players on the Kings’ roster. Of the standard contract players, Ellis is top-five on the roster in defensive rating at 118.4, as per StatMuse.
The other half of the equation that the Lakers need is perimeter shooting, and Ellis has been proficient on that end since he’s been in the NBA. This season he’s shooting 37 percent from the 3-point line in just about three attempts per game. Last season, he took a career-high 4.0 attempts from distance and connected on 43.3 percent of them.
Ellis has reportedly already drawn interest from the Lakers, among other teams, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel. He fits the bill of a player that needs a change of scenery and a consistent role to show his value to a team. And he likely won’t cost the Lakers much either. A straight up swap for Dalton Knecht works. The Lakers get their 3&D guy, and the Kings take a flyer on a first round pick with potential for the inevitable rebuild.