A confusing season that has seen the club blow countless games to inferior opponents while also managing to elevate their play against top competition has turned them into an intriguing pick to make a deep playoff run.
That said, their current roster almost certainly isn't enough. Whether it's their limited perimeter scoring, guard depth, or now, perimeter defense, given the loss of Jarred Vanderbilt, Los Angeles has upgrades to make in a lot of areas.
Their small chest of assets does tie their hands, forcing them to pick and choose what they need the most. They've made that decision, as per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, "the Lakers will be on the hunt for a player who can pick up the defensive slack in place of Vanderbilt."
Tons of names come up on the list of potential candidates, headlined by Chicago's Alex Caruso, Brooklyn's Dorian Finney-Smith and Brooklyn's Royce O'Neale. That said, Los Angeles lacks the assets to make a strong push for any of them, and given that all three are commodities across the league, it wouldn't be surprising if the Lakers were outbid for all of them.
In terms of if a trade like this is really what the Lakers need, that's another conversation. They should improve their perimeter defense as much as possible, but scoring remains an issue for the group.
In their win against the Knicks, who were missing their two best defenders – one of whom is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate – despite a lethal scoring performance from Austin Reaves, especially down the stretch, Los Angeles put up fewer points than their season average, which is already just 14th in the league.
Come playoff time, having a higher offensive floor insulates you from a bad shooting night, tough defensive matchups and more. This ignites the conversation that Los Angeles may need to trade for both offense and defense – although, given their chest of assets, that seems unlikely.
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