The Los Angeles Lakers will be anxious to address their need for a strong point guard this summer after D’Angelo Russell’s failings impacted the team in their sweep loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic answered fan questions based on his insight around the Lakers’ offseason and revealed that the team may have to give up on pursuing Kyrie Irving in a sign-and-trade for D’Angelo Russell and are now looking at Fred VanVleet instead.
“My read on the situation is that the Lakers would prefer to use D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade, but I’m not sure the market is there. Landing Kyrie Irving for Russell is shaping up to be a pipe dream, especially with Dallas unlikely to help Los Angeles out. Fred VanVleet, a Klutch client, looms as a possibility, but adding him would require Toronto to agree to terms with Russell (or take on the Beasley and Bamba contracts).”
VanVleet is also looking to be a free agent this summer, and being moved to the Lakers could be enticing to the star who provides two-way value. The reasons for the Raptors to commit to this trade seem thin, so it’ll take some working out.
What Do The Lakers Need?
LeBron James is clearly willing to move past the role of doing everything for the team heading into Year 21, if he chooses to not retire and return to fulfill his contract. With James and Anthony Davis both possibly being free agents in the summer of 2024, next season may genuinely be the last year the Lakers as currently constructed can take a crack at the championship.
VanVleet can be a more reliable initiator but his scoring would be under question. He struggled in the regular season and averaged 19.3 points but on 39.3% field goal efficiency. His defense has remained solid, so adding a solid guard defender would address another need that the Lakers can’t have with Russell. Ultimately, it’ll be hard to convince Toronto of the value in this trade without additional assets, so it hinges on VanVleet definitely being a free agent in the summer and forcing his way to Toronto.
