One of the ways the Los Angeles Lakers can improve their roster this offseason is through trades. The team has salary cap space to absorb contracts and draft picks to include in potential deals, however the team does not have much to offer in terms of players that other teams would want.
The two most popular players that have been included in potential deals are wing Dalton Knecht and forward Jarred Vanderbilt. However, it sounds as if neither has much trade value across the league, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
When I talk to people around the NBA about the current players on the Lakers’ roster, there just isn’t a real clamoring from teams to go and get one of them. They all have real flaws that might knock them out of a team’s plans. Maybe — and it’s a maybe — there’s a team desperate for shooting that would try and look at Knecht, but I don’t think there’s a big market for him.
A specific team needing defensive versatility and rebounding with offense to spare could find use for Vanderbilt, but his $13.3 million player option for the 2027-28 season seems like a lock to be picked up, making his contract a rough one for a team to take. Basically, in a vacuum, you’d be paying teams something in terms of capital (either players or picks) to grab that contract. To get back an established player on a good contract, you’d have to meet the asking price and whatever the cost is to get off of the players you’re sending out. I do think that if, the Lakers were creative about some of the “bad” contracts that exist around the league, they could search for players who fit their specific needs and situation and try to find value that way.
Knecht’s value has really fallen after a strong start to his career. While he did have a handful of games this year in which he showed he can still score at a high level, his shortcomings in the rest of his game have prevented him from maintaining a consistent rotation spot. Vanderbilt still has some value as a high-energy, defensive wing, but he has never been able to become a consistent shooter and his contract could push teams away.
With each having little to no value, it means the Lakers would have to attach something just to get rid of them, making it even more difficult to bring a good player back in a potential deal. But if the front office can get creative there is always a possibility they could find some sort of deal that can improve this roster.
Marcus Smart more likely to return to Lakers than Deandre Ayton
The Lakers also have many decisions to make regarding retaining their own free agents and it currently seems more likely that Marcus Smart returns to the team than center Deandre Ayton.
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