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The Los Angeles Lakers are linked to a number of players ahead of the deadline, but new trade rumors hint at major difficulties with any move.
So far in the 2026 NBA trade season, the Trae Young to the Washington Wizards has been the only move to happen. While the previous trade rumors hinted at this deadline being one of the busiest in recent memory, that could all be for naught, as Young could very well be the biggest name dealt before the February 5th deadline.
In fact, this trade season might end up being relatively quiet, and while that is due to multiple reasons, the Los Angeles Lakers could be at the forefront as to why many of the previous blockbuster trade rumors could now be null and void.
Writing for ESPN, Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorstreported that, despite thenumber of players the Lakers havebeen linked to over the past few months, their cap restrictions and limited assetsmight make it impossible for them, likeso many other franchises, tostay quiet as the deadline approaches.
“[The Lakers] are a prime example of why this deadline might be quiet,” the two insiders wrote. “Despite the team’s glaring flaws, particularly on defense, the Lakers have limited draft assets and are just a million dollars below their first-apron hard cap for the season, giving them little flexibility to make the improvements to the roster necessaryto truly become a threat in the West.”
Through 35 games, the Lakers are 23-12. Luka Doncic leads the league in scoring and continues to look like a generational offensive player, but AustinReaves is out, LeBron James is starting to lose his battle with Father Time, Deandre Ayton is lookingmore and more disinterested, and the team is near the bottom of the league in defensive rating.
NBA Trade Rumors Less Than A Month Before The Deadline
While names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Lauri Markkanen, and Jonathan Kumingawere previously seen as shoo-ins to be traded a short time ago, over the past few days, rumors surrounding each have taken a sharp turn, pointing to all of them potentially staying with their current teams.
Antetokounmpo said he’ll never ask to be traded from the Milwaukee Bucks, Davis continues to get injured and has a dropping trade value, the Utah Jazz haven’t entertained any deal for Markkanen, and Anthony Slater of ESPN recently reported the Golden State Warriors could continue their ‘hostage situation’ with Kuminga if they can’t find a right deal in the trade market.
Anthony Slater
Latest on Jonathan Kuminga a month out to the trade deadline on NBA Today.
It’s posturing season. He’s very available, but Warriors are at least saying they’d be willing to keep Kuminga into summer if nothing appealing enough materializes.
Players like Michael Porter Jr., Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Coby White, and Zach LaVine allstill appear available, but that doesn’t guarantee any of them willbe moved, especially when considering the restrictions that teams, like the Lakers, have put on themselves before the deadline.
“They just need to fast-forward to the offseason,” an unnamed Western Conference executive told Bontemps and Windhorst. “They can’t realistically add to the roster…They’re focused on keeping cap space and trying to do moves on the margins, and it’s hard to find a lot [of trade options] that makes sense.”
Like the Warriors and New York Knicks, the Lakers don’t have a lot of wiggle room as it relates to potential trade deadline deals. At the same time, they have issues the president of basketball operations, Rob Pelinka, needs to address, waiting until the offseason might be their best bet.
Yet still, this might be their last season with James, but at this point, perhaps building a team without the league’s all-time leading scorer might be best for the Doncic-led franchisegoing forward.
Lakers Top Trade Targets
However, all of that doesn’t mean the Lakersare completely ruled out from making a trade, it just means they’ll have to jump through a lot more hoops to make a deal that both keeps them under the first apron and makes the team better, which, as the days go on, feelsharder and harder to see as likely.
As the mock trades, rumors, and reports on potential targets continue to circulate, the Lakersstill have their eyes ona number of targets as the deadline approaches.
While there’s still a chance Los Angeles doesn’t land any of their top targets, they reportedly still have a chance at three in particular: Jones, Daniel Gafford, and, most recently, Keon Ellis of the Sacramento Kings.
The price of Jones could be too high, considering his rising value around the league and what other teams could offer the Pelicans in a package for the 27-year-old wing.The same is truewith Ellis, who, despite getting little run in Sacramento, has been eyed bya number of teams, specifically the Knicks, who could very wellgive up more than the Lakers for the 3-and-D player.
LakersMuse
🚨 The Lakers are targeting a two-way forward at the trade deadline, per @TheSteinLine
Gafford, on the other hand, might be their best bet. He fits their needs, and while his three-year, $54 million extension will kick in next season, which could require Los Angeles to give up Rui Hachimura and at least one more asset, he has a strong history with Doncicand would likely give head coach JJ Redick more assurance on the defensive end of the floor compared to Ayton.
But still, whoever the Lakersare targeting before the trade deadline,it’s going to bedifficult for them to find a move that both fits within their restrictions andturns them into astronger title contender.