This has been a busy NBA trade deadline across the league, and the Los Angeles Lakers finally got in the mix early Thursday morning by reportedly trading Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for sharpshooter Luke Kennard. The pick in 2032 was the only second-round pick the Lakers had at their disposal leading up to the deadline.
While Kennard doesn’t fix all of the Lakers’ problems, he adds some much-needed outside shooting to a roster that lacked it.
Unloading Vincent’s expiring contract for someone like Kennard is a small move, but a step in the right direction for Rob Pelinka and the Lakers on the day of the deadline.
After that trade, it was interesting to see what the Lakers would do next, if anything at all. And according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, L.A. only made the one trade and will now shift its focus to the buyout market:
The Vincent-Kennard swap is the lone transaction the Lakers completed before the deadline, sources said. Now L.A. is focused on evaluating its two-way spots and monitoring the buy-out market. The Lakers have one open roster spot, but could create another one by waiving a player.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 5, 2026
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the deadline for the Lakers was them not finding a taker for Dalton Knecht, who could use a change of scenery. While he looked like the steal of the 2024 draft early in his rookie season, Knecht’s play declined significantly after the rescinded trade to the Charlotte Hornets last deadline.
Knecht is still young and can get back on track, but with the Kennard addition he is shifting even further down the depth chart.
As things currently stand, the Lakers have an open roster spot and are around $1.4 million below their first apron hard cap. That means they can add a player on the buyout market with some potential options including Cam Thomas, Khris Middleton, Lonzo Ball, Chris Paul, Mike Conley and Haywood Highsmith.
The Lakers could also promote Drew Timme to a standard contract to make him playoff-eligible, or give Kobe Bufkin another look given his success in the G League.
If the Lakers were to eventually waive someone like Maxi Kleber then they could open up another roster spot to make multiple moves.
Lakers could be threat for Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer
The biggest-name player that could have been traded before the deadline is Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, although he will be staying put until the summer.
That is good news for the Lakers as they will have more assets to offer during the offseason, making them a viable threat according to reports to acquire Antetokounmpo and pair him with Luka Doncic.
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