The NBA trade deadline is rapidly approaching, with all transactions needing to be finalized by Thursday, Feb. 5 at 12:00 p.m. PT. The Los Angeles Lakers are one team that desperately needs to make a move if they want to be taken seriously in the 2025-26 season. The current team they’ve built around Luka Doncic after their blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks at last year’s deadline is not ready to contend for a championship.
It had been almost settled that the Lakers were going to see what they have in 2025-26 around Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves before going into the 2026 offseason with a mountain of cap space. However, L.A.’s inability to win games against other top teams has the front office open to rethinking that plan.
The Lakers’ biggest needs are size, athleticism, and two-way role players. One team that has players that fit all those criteria and are at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with a motivation to tank are the Mavericks themselves.
Dallas owns their own pick in 2026, but has given up each of their next four firsts in some form. So if they’re going to add elite, cheap talent around Cooper Flagg, they need to tank now. However, a deal with L.A. is unlikely given the angst in the fanbase surrounding last season’s Doncic debacle, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic:
The people I speak with find it hard to believe that Dallas is in a hurry to help the Lakers via trade https://t.co/Jt1ZFynI8A
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) January 12, 2026
The Mavericks have plenty of players that might help the Lakers without serving them much purpose as they move to the Flagg era. However, striking up a deal with the Lakers that improves L.A. could go horribly within the fanbase.
Even though former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is no longer with the team, there is definitely an anti-Lakers sentiment in the fandom that the new decision-makers won’t want to touch.
If the Lakers are willing to overpay in a way that massively helps Dallas, then maybe it can be entertained. But even an even-value deal could lead to significant negative reactions.
JJ Redick discusses difficult upcoming schedule for Lakers
The Lakers have five games this upcoming week, starting on the road against the Sacramento Kings on Monday, then back at home against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday and Charlotte Hornets on Thursday. To close out the week, L.A. travels to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday and then is back home for the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick discussed how they plan to manage that schedule with little rest and a few somewhat strong opponents.
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