The Los Angeles Lakers don’t have time to waste on the trade market.
If the franchise identifies a target that checks off most, if not all, of the boxes it's looking for, they should hesitate to close the deal by completing a trade before this Thursday’s deadline.
Sports Illustrated’s Joey Akeley believes that a four-time All-Star forward could be a nice addition to the Lakers, so much so that he crafted a Giannis Antetokounmpo-centered blockbuster three-team trade that would land Los Angeles the accomplished frontcourt veteran.
“The Lakers have three of the best offensive players in the league in Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James, but they are seriously lacking in defensive stoppers,” Akeley wrote Monday.
“(Draymond) Green would do wonders for them on the less glamorous end. (Maxi) Kleber isn't in the Lakers' rotation right now, so losing him wouldn't hurt. Losing (Rui) Hachimura's three-point shooting would be felt, but Green's defense should have more of an impact than Hachimura's offense did.”
“A 2032 second-round pick is a fair price for the Lakers to find out how they'd look with a defensive mastermind like Green.”
Akeley’s full trade proposal would send Green to the Lakers, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Hachimura, Kleber, first-round picks in 2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032 (all via Warriors), a 2031 first-round pick swap (via Warriors), and a 2032 second-round pick (via Lakers) to the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Antetokounmpo clan (Giannis and his brother Thanasis) and Gary Trent Jr. to the Warriors.
A Green-Lakers trade would work for two main reasons. No. 1: The Lakers lack a defensive bruiser who could help transform them into a more physically imposing/stout defensive squad. Green fits that bill, as the four-time NBA champion Warriors forward is known for frustrating opponents by forcing them to work harder than usual to convert on the offensive end.
No. 2, Green recently stated that his dream has always been to play alongside LeBron James, as he’s a player Green has the utmost respect for.
“I’ve always wanted to (play with James),” Green told the California Post’s Melissa Rohlin on Tuesday. “Just to experience it, to see how he thinks, to see, all right, what I could do to help him and his thinking. Or what can I learn and pick up about what he’s thinking.”
With the right trade package, the Lakers could help turn Green’s fantasy into a reality this season.
More NBA: Lakers prepared to move on from $101 million star this summer, according to report