Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers front office know that some moves need to be made in order for this team to be a championship contender. If the Lakers want to take a big swing there are some names known to be available going into the trade deadline such as Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls, Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans and the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler.
The Lakers have been linked to LaVine in previous seasons and he would certainly give the Lakers a high-scoring wing option while Ingram began his career with the team, and there have been rumblings surrounding him as well. Butler has solidified himself as one of the best big-game players of this generation and has led Miami to two NBA Finals appearances.
For the Pelinka and the Lakers, however, it looks like none of these big names are on their radar as they are not expected to seriously consider trading for any of the three, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
The Lakers are not anticipated to be heavily in the mix for Miami’s Jimmy Butler, New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram or Chicago’s Zach LaVine.
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as acquiring any of these three All-Stars would force the Lakers to basically give up all of their assets and mortgage their future. And while such a deal would likely improve the team, it is far from a guarantee that it would boost them to championship contention.
In all likelihood, Pelinka is focused on one or two smaller deals that can bring in good, reliable role players to fit around Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Names such as Jonas Valanciunas and Dorian Finney-Smith have been mentioned as targets as each fits a role the Lakers are in need of.
With LaVine’s huge contract, and both Ingram and Butler in search of new deals, it just doesn’t make sense for the Lakers to part with what they would have to in order to bring them in and likely still not be a true contender.
Lakers expected to be ‘active buyers’ ahead of NBA Trade Deadline
They may not be eyeing the big names, but that doesn’t mean Rob Pelinka and the Lakers aren’t actively canvasing the league in search of deals to help this team.
A recent report said the Lakers are expected to be ‘active buyers’ ahead of the upcoming trade deadline on Feb. 6, but it looks more likely the team will be targeting smaller deals for role players than bringing in a big name.
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