Idea Wants Lakers to Trade Austin Reaves and Other Players to Get $215 Million Star.
Following their first-round playoff elimination, the Los Angeles Lakers may be going big-game hunting this offseason. The club made an effort to assemble a strong supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but it was insufficient to advance past the halfway point.
Rather than taking the same route again, the Lakers might sell the farm to bring in a new high-profile player. In exchange for Trae Young, the Atlanta Hawks receive Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, a 2029 first-round selection, and a 2031 first-round pick, according to a trade proposed by Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes.
In a post published on May 17, Hughes stated, “GM Landry Fields seems convinced that the Young-Murray backcourt isn’t working. But Atlanta isn’t facing a financial imperative to move Young.” By making that belief public, he might have even diminished his team’s trade leverage.
This is a straight-up star play for the Lakers. More than anything else, LeBron James and Anthony Davis require two-way backup players, but Young has shown himself to be one of the league’s most potent offensive weapons on several occasions. His ability to set up simple looks for James and Davis and his possible impact on Los Angeles’ offense may be very beneficial.
Young is a terrible defender and has consistently been among the league leaders in turnovers, but there’s no doubting his explosiveness—he has averaged more than 25.0 points per game in all but one of his career’s seasons.
Trae Young May Not Be of Interest to the San Antonio Spurs.
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The San Antonio Spurs appear to be the Lakers’ main rival if they decide to trade for Young. But according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, they might not be all that interested in the star guard.
In a May 15 post, Fischer reported, “Any Spurs plans of maneuvering to bring Young to San Antonio have been vastly overstated, according to multiple league figures with knowledge of the situation.” According to insiders, the Spurs haven’t shown any interest in signing Young thus far.
This offseason, the Lakers could not face much opposition from the Spurs if they aren’t interested in Young. That might result in a somewhat lower asking price for him. Although acquiring Young won’t be inexpensive, the Lakers might be able to give up one first-round pick rather than two.
Los Angeles Lakers Must Use Intelligence This Off-Season.
Young is a talented player that might work well with the Lakers, but before the franchise further jeopardizes its future, they need to be certain of that. The team cannot experience the same kind of devastation as they did with the trade of Russell Westbrook.
It’s not as hazardous because Young is a different player than Westbrook and younger, but the Lakers cannot afford to make the same mistakes twice. In the NBA, the superteam strategy hasn’t proven successful in recent years, and adding Young would restrict the team’s options with its other players. James just has a limited number of seasons left, and if the Lakers make another roster error, it may be the end of the future Hall of Famer’s chances to win titles. Rob Pelinka, the general manager, doesn’t have the finest record, so Los Angeles needs to come up with something unique this summer.
