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The Los Angeles Lakers have been consistently linked to top stars in NBA trade rumors, but the latest report indicates bad news for the team.
TheLos Angeles Lakers need to make wholesale changes if they want to havethe chance to win multiple playoff rounds in what could be their last season with the star trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves, and right now, a trade appears to be their only option.
While the Lakers havebeen linked toa number of players on the trade market, the namesthat are consistently mentioned would requirethem to makebig changes to their roster, as well as plans for the future.
But putting aside what they might have to give up, whether it is Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, or whoever else, Los Angeles’ top trade targets might not even be available.
In a recent article by Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, he predicted that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lauri Markkanen, and Trey Murphy will each stay with their current teams for the remainder of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Lakers Get Bad News On Top Trade Targets
For the Lakers, Antetokounmpo remains the top prize. Pairing him with Doncic would require JJ Redick, Rob Pelinka, and the rest of the front office to sign off on sending Reaves back to the Milwaukee Bucks, but it would almost certainly vault them into title contention, just with the two European stars alone.
However, Quinn believes the Bucks will keep the 2021 Finals MVP. Along with recent reports that Milwaukee is hoping to add talent at the deadline, he doesn’t think they’ll move him until an official trade requestis made, which, as seen with the months of reporting, doesn’t seem like a request the star is ready to make.
“The Bucks have seemingly taken the stance that they will do nothing until Antetokounmpo directly asks them to,” Quinn wrote. “Milwaukee doesn’t want to admit that it’s over, that the Bucks failedto adequately support the best player in franchise history. Antetokounmpo doesn’t want to admit that it’s over either.”
In somewhat similar fashion, the same is true with Markkanen on the Utah Jazz. He’s been a top trade candidate for years, and while he’s had a strong season, the lottery-bound team has had several chances to get a good haul in return, but hasn’t budged yet.
“Frankly, we’ve been doing this dance for three years. If therewas an offer out there that Utahwas prepared to accept, a deal would have happened by now,” Quinn added. “There’s just not likely to be an offer out there that would move Utah if all of the previous ones haven’t.”
Both Antetokounmpo and Markkanen have been the big names linked to the Lakers over the past few months,or more specifically,when questions about The Greek Freak’s future in Milwaukeecame into question after reporting by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
New Orleans Not Budging On Trey Murphy And Herb Jones
Along with the two near-max stars, the Lakers have had their eyes on Herb Jones and Trey Murphy of the New Orleans Pelicans. While they really need a 3-and-D player regardless of whether they are in New Orleans or not, the two names have constantly been linked to Los Angeles this season.
However, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Pelicans are reluctant to offer up their two best wing players.
“The market for such wings who can shoot from distance and defend remains quite limited, with New Orleans still resistant to trade interest in both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III,” he wrote in on his Substack, The Stein Line.
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The Pelicans remain resistant to trade interest in both Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, per @TheSteinLine
The insider also added that the Lakers ‘continue to scour‘ the trade market to attempt to improve their near-bottom-of-the-league defensive rating, but as long as New Orleans keeps their two best trade assets close to the chest, nothing will change.
“But both players are in the early stages of their primes and fit around the rookies New Orleans drafted last June,” Quinn said on Jones and Murphy. “The Pelicans have no reason to rush. If someone wants to overpay, they’ll listen, but to this point, no obvious suitors at that price point have emerged.”
For the Lakers, it comes down to who they want to keep and pair Doncic with going forward. While James and Reaves will be free agents this summer, Pelinka, Redick, and the brass have somemajor decisions to make if they wantto at least give themselves a chance to improve by the trade deadline.