The Los Angeles Lakers are 17-17 after 34 games and barely seem better than the team that struggled for much of the 2022-23 NBA season.
This group is a far cry from the championship contenders many pegged them to be during the preseason.
Obviously L.A. turned things around at the NBA Trade Deadline last year, and it is increasingly looking like something similar will need to happen in 2024.
This week they were linked to a three-team trade that could revitalize the Lakers’ season.
According to Bleacher Report insider Andy Bailey, one potential win-win-win to keep an eye on involves L.A., the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks.
In this proposed deal the Lakers would get Dejounte Murray and Garrett Temple; the Hawks would get Pascal Siakam, Dennis Schröder and Max Christie; and the Raptors would get D’Angelo Russell, De’Andre Hunter, Taurean Prince, a top-10 protected 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers plus a 2029 first-round pick from the Hawks.
Brittany Mahomes Shares Wild 2024 New Year’s Party Photos: https://t.co/TexkWj2QFG
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 1, 2024
This deal makes sense on multiple levels. While the Lakers are obviously one of three teams in the running for Trae Young, they have also been connected to Murray frequently over the past few months. That’s not by accident.
While Murray isn’t necessarily the ideal complementary piece for a LeBron James-led squad, he is good enough. More importantly, he is only 27 years old and could help L.A. in the post-James era when the team has to lean more heavily on Anthony Davis.
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— Game 7 (@game7__) January 1, 2024
This move would be a good one for Atlanta because it would allow them to wrap up their failed backcourt-heavy experiment and bring in an All-Star in Siakam more suited to playing with someone like Young.
For Toronto this would just be another move in the direction of a full-on rebuild. Sending OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks was Step 1 in what will inevitably be a lengthy starting anew process. This particular three-teamer would just further that.
Trades involving three or more teams are notoriously difficult to pull off. That said, there is no denying that this particular trade would be a win-win-win for the Lakers, Hawks and Raptors.
Related: Danica Patrick’s New Year’s 2024 Photos With Girlfriend Brooks Nader
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
