According to NBA insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young and Kyrie Irving are the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer trade targets.
Mitchell plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Trae Young plays for the Atlanta Hawks and Irving plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
“Moving forward, the Lakers plan to use the three picks that they will have available this summer — 2031, 2029 and either 2024 or 2025, depending on which pick the New Orleans Pelicans choose to receive as part of their return for 2019’s Anthony Davis trade — to pursue a star via trade,” Buha wrote. “Three potential targets are Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young and Kyrie Irving, according to team and league sources. The Athletic has previously reported on the franchise’s interest in Young and Irving.”
Mitchell has a player option worth $37.1 million for the 2025-26 season. According to NBA insider Bill Reiter of CBS Sports, the Lakers believe they can trade for Mitchell this offseason.
Young has the same agent (Rich Paul of Klutch Sports) as Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Young could become available for trade this offseason depending on how the Hawks finish this season.
Finally, Irving and LeBron played three seasons together on the Cavaliers. They won the 2016 NBA title together. The Lakers tried to acquire Irving last season from the Brooklyn Nets, but the Nets traded Irving to the Mavericks.
According to NBA insider Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Irving had a “strong interest” in reuniting with LeBron on the Lakers or Mavericks last summer.
The Lakers didn’t make any trades at the 2024 NBA trade deadline. They are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 28-26.
LeBron can become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he declines his 2024-25 player option with the Lakers.
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