The Los Angeles Lakers have issues on their roster that are restricting their success. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are having healthy seasons with great production, but their team is 18-19 and falling out of reach of the top six in the West. A major trade seems inevitable, but adding just a star player might not be what they need, especially with LeBron and AD still looking like top-10 players in the league.

Darvin Ham’s job looks safe after a win over the Clippers, primarily because he has support from Jeanie Buss. This means a trade to adjust to him is more likely than the Lakers trying to see the season out with a new coach. Adding playable depth is what helped the Lakers last season and a deal with the tanking Portland Trail Blazers to take their veterans may be what the Lakers need to do.

Trail Blazers Receive: D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2025 Second-Round Pick (LAC), 2027 Second-Round Pick (LAL)

Lakers Receive: Jerami Grant, Malcolm Brogdon, Rayan Rupert

The Lakers add two veterans that could be major contributors next to LeBron and AD, while the Blazers get salary flexibility and multiple assets that they could develop or move. The trade can’t be executed before January 15.

The Blazers are a fun young team right now but nobody will call them good. They’re looking like bottom-feeders in the West and could benefit by going all-in on a youthful team and seeing how they develop, similar to the three-year rebuild we just saw the OKC Thunder do. Jerami Grant’s long-term contract could be an anchor while Malcolm Brogdon is taking crucial guard minutes away from Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons.

D’Angelo Russell is averaging 14.7 points and 6.1 assists this season, while Rui Hachimura is averaging 11.6 points and 3.6 rebounds. Russell likely doesn’t stay over the long haul but could see the season out in Portland before a summer trade with an expiring contract. Hachimura is just 24 years old and could be a piece the Blazers develop and use in their frontcourt, given their lack of depth and the loss of Grant in this deal.

Gabe Vincent is a good veteran option for the bench behind guards like Shaedon Sharpe, Simons, and Scoot. He’s been injured this season, but is on a manageable short-term contract and could be a valuable veteran to the Blazers guards. Jalen Hood-Schifino bolsters their guard depth and is a high-ceiling young player Portland could extract value from.

Veteran Contributors Join The Fray In LA
D’Angelo Russell has reportedly been floated as a trade chip earlier this season while Vincent has been hurt and unspectacular in the five games he did play. Moving off them and using a young asset like Schifino instead of a pick could help them get valuable veteran rotational pieces. Hachimura is the biggest loss on paper, but he’s been among the camp of players unhappy with Darvin Ham, so this could be a way to break off that relationship.

The returning players are extremely useful for the Lakers. Jerami Grant is averaging 21.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists this season, showing why he’s one of the most dependable two-way forwards in the league. The contract for him isn’t pretty but could be the reason they get him while protecting future trade assets. Brogdon is averaging 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.4 assists, coming off a season where he was named Sixth Man of the Year in Boston. He is a veteran guard option who can do a little bit of everything, exactly the kind of player Ham likes.

The Lakers guard rotation will be more balanced and complementary with Austin Reaves and Brogdon, with Vincent’s unavailability meaning they haven’t had competent depth at the position beyond that. Making the right signing off the free agent market to add a third guard would be crucial, as the two-way signing of Skylar Mays has already started that process for LA.

The Lakers Don’t Go All-In But Make Massive Improvements
The Lakers’ future draft picks should be treated like a hot commodity, especially given the uncertain future of the franchise after the LeBron and AD era. The likelihood they can get a target like Zach LaVine or Dejounte Murray without parting with them is slim. This deal sees them give up underperforming players and add two proven contributors who can fit in roles around the existing makeup of the Lakers. It doesn’t look like Darvin Ham will be on his way out, so giving him players he may find better use for could be the route to success.

The Blazers will see a lot of money come off their books in this trade, especially over the long haul with Grant, someone who they gave a massive contract with the hope that Damian Lillard would stay. They already moved off Nurkic and Grant would be the obvious next step. The Lakers should be willing to take the contract hit and hope they can move him later if it doesn’t work out, but a risk like this could be worth making.

The problems in LA are hard to identify, purely because there seem to be so many of them. Darvin Ham proved his mettle through the end of last season and the In-Season Tournament, so it might be worth it for them to remove this rotational surplus of inconsistent players and take a chance with a new core.