Lakers To Look For ‘Difference-Making Perimeter Talent’ In Summer

According to NBA insider Zach Lowe of ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers will look for a “difference-making perimeter talent” in the summer. 

The Lakers will be able to trade three first-round picks this offseason. They have been linked to several players, most notably Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, Atlanta Hawks guards Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.

LeBron James can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason if he declines his 2024-25 player option with the Lakers worth $51.4 million. Lowe is hearing that The King prefers to stay with the purple and gold. 

“The playoffs always inform the offseason,” Lowe wrote. “Everything I’ve heard for five years suggests James would prefer to finish his career as a Laker. Is that absolute? Who knows. There could be some breaking point at which the Lakers fall so far that James begins to look elsewhere. But the Lakers have one title and a conference finals appearance over the past four seasons. They will be able to trade three first-round picks this summer, and league sources expect them to search for a difference-making perimeter talent.”

According to NBA insiders Sam Amick, Anthony Slater and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, LeBron has long wanted a star ball-handling sidekick, dating back to the Lakers’ failed bid for Damian Lillard in the summer of 2021 and their subsequent trade for Russell Westbrook.

LeBron urged the Lakers to acquire Irving in the summer of 2022, at the 2023 trade deadline and again last summer. Irving was traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the Mavericks last season and re-signed with the Mavericks last offseason in free agency. 

It sounds like the Lakers plan to continue their quest for a third star this summer. It will be fascinating to see if they get anyone.