Lakers coach JJ Redick
Getty
JJ Redick is in his second season as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
It has long been believed that the Los Angeles Lakers’ top priority ahead of the February 5 trade deadline is landing a high-calibre 3-and-D wing to round out the rotation.
According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst, general manager Rob Pelinka has also been surveying the market for frontcourt help, but perimeter upgrades remain the primary focus.
A broad list of names has circulated in recent weeks, including Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Jonathan Kuminga, Miles Bridges, Andrew Wiggins, Saddiq Bey, Naji Marshall, DeAndre Hunter, and Keon Ellis.
Lakers Lose Ground as Targets Come off the Board
The Lakers’ pursuit took a hit over the weekend, with both Hunter and Ellis coming off the market in the same move.
On Sunday, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that De’Andre Hunter had been traded to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal that also included the Chicago Bulls, with Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis heading to Cleveland.
NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer suggested that Los Angeles’ interest in Hunter may have been overstated, even though preliminary conversations did take place.
“League sources say that the Lakers’ interest in Hunter, meanwhile, has been repeatedly overstated this week,” they wrote. “The teams have certainly talked during this transaction cycle, but the purple and gold are reticent to jeopardize their upcoming financial flexibility in the offseason by absorbing Hunter’s $24.9 million salary for next season.”
As has been widely reported, the Lakers are structuring potential deals around their expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura ($18.2 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million), and Maxi Kleber ($11 million).
Even so, multiple reports continue to suggest those expiring deals have generated limited traction across the league.
Lakers Falling Short of Asking Prices
According to NBA reporter Jake Weinbach, Los Angeles has struggled to meet the price tag attached to several of its preferred wing targets as the deadline approaches.
“Other prominent trade targets for the Lakers include Dallas’ Naji Marshall, New Orleans’ Herb Jones, and Miami’s Andrew Wiggins, but Los Angeles has been unable to meet the asking price for any of these valued wings up to this point,” Weinbach wrote on X.
That assessment aligns with reports that the Golden State Warriors have rebuffed any Lakers inquiries involving Jonathan Kuminga, viewing the proposed packages as insufficient.
Forbes’ Evan Sidery claimed that Los Angeles was willing to offer the expiring contracts of Vincent and Kleber alongside a 2032 second-round pick, though that framework was reportedly turned away by Golden State.
ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel further noted that discussions between the two teams never progressed beyond initial, surface-level interest, stating that “the Warriors have made it clear LA has nothing of value to them.”
With Giannis Antetokounmpo now on the trade block and Golden State viewed as a serious suitor, any lingering Kuminga chatter appears all but extinguished.
At present, the Lakers control only one tradable first-round pick and would need to lean heavily on expiring contracts, along with second-year guard Dalton Knecht, whose trade value has been described as limited by The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin has reported that Los Angeles is exploring the possibility of flipping either its 2031 or 2032 first-round pick for multiple future selections, adding that an inactive trade deadline would be a “major miss” for the franchise.
In theory, such a move would meaningfully expand the Lakers’ asset pool, but with the deadline looming, time is quickly becoming their biggest obstacle.