The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly have their eye on six players ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline.
According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers will potentially target: Naji Marshall, De'Andre Hunter, Donte DiVincenzo, Keon Ellis, Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones.
“According to some of those NBA folks, the names that have been attached to the Lakers as potential trade targets are Dallas' Naji Marshall, a former Doncic teammate, Cleveland's De'Andre Hunter, Minnesota's Donte DiVincenzo and Sacramento's Keon Ellis. New Orleans' Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones are two players the Lakers have shown some interest in - as have many other teams - but NBA people say the asking price is so high that teams are waiting to see if that comes down by the deadline next week.”
The Lakers need nothing more than to improve their perimeter defense, and acquiring at least one of these players would do wonders. Names like Ellis and Jones have been on the Lakers’ radar for some time. They are both tenacious defenders and would add a spark to the team on that side of the ball that the team has missed for some time.
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As for the other four, L.A. has not been previously linked to them. Still, the Lakers appear willing to do whatever it takes to steer themselves back onto a championship-contending path, and that could become reality if they land at least one of the six players Turner mentioned.
However, the price could be steep if L.A. pursues one of the six. How would it look exactly? Well, according to Turner, the Lakers might need to part ways with Rui Hachimura to get a deal done.
“To make any of these deals, the NBA executives and scouts said, Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and his expiring $18-million contract is a name that comes up often as a tradeable player. Hachimura's recent outstanding play has increased his trade value around the league, but it also has made the forward a very valuable player for the Lakers.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that the Lakers have been calling teams, offering their unprotected picks in 2031 and 2032 for multiple first-round picks. The Lakers are in a tough spot; they don’t have any players that other teams highly covet, a high number of desirable draft picks and limited cap flexibility.
Still, Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka is expected to make a move to improve the overall roster.
Newsweek