Dec 1, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) gets the rebound against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lakers ‘One Trade Away’ From Contending, NBA Insider Claims

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Patrick Warren | Last updated Dec 3, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers saw their seven-game win streak snap Monday night with a 125-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Their offense had its worst performance since facing Oklahoma City in mid-November, when they put up just 92 points.

The loss was bound to happen, as winning streaks are not easy to maintain in this league; however, it further emphasized a growing problem for the Lakers: their defense is not up to par with the other contenders in the NBA.

The Lakers have the 18th-best team defensive rating in the NBA, well below that of fellow Western Conference favorites Oklahoma City and Houston. With a lot of talk in Los Angeles about potential trade targets, The Athletic's Sam Vecenie thinks the Lakers should focus on improving the defensive side of the ball, considering the team's dominance on offense.

I think the Lakers are basically a trade away from being pretty real contenders, and I don't think the trade might need to be as significant as others think.

Their offense is absolutely sick, both in terms of talent and structurally. pic.twitter.com/HfBobigbOW
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 2, 2025

"The Lakers are a trade away from being genuinely real contenders right now. That's my real opinion on this. I don't even think it has to be a really, truly significant move based off what we've seen in the last little while from this group," Vecenie said before praising the Lakers' offense . "I just think they look awesome. Like, you can go through all of the stuff that they're running, like Luka with LeBron now in the lineup next to Austin Reaves — it's really, really, really hard to be able to guard them and deal with them."

With the trio of star forward LeBron James, guard Luka Doncic and guard Austin Reaves, the Lakers hold the sixth-highest offensive rating while sinking a league-high 51.3 percent of their free throws.

"You really have to win the minutes where that trio isn't out there. They do a really good job of staggering though. JJ Redick has this thing down to a science," Vecenie said.

There are several players on non-contending teams — including Pelicans forward Herbert Jones — that the Lakers could consider acquiring to shore up their defense. With a reasonable contract and an ability to shoot from three, Jones could be the perfect addition for a Lakers team desperate to redeem themselves after an early playoff exit last season.

This article first appeared on FanNation All Lakers and was syndicated with permission.

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