Six Lakers' Trade Targets Revealed Ahead of Deadline

There's only one week left in which the Los Angeles Lakers can shake things up with moves ahead of the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 5. 

Although an absolute home run for the Lakers would be somehow acquiring superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, that scenario seems unlikely, at least until the summer, when they'll have more trade assets. 

In the meantime, the team's search for a 3-and-D wing seems to be the top priority with a week left to go before the buzzer sounds on the trade deadline, and there may be some intriguing options.

Six Trade Targets for the Lakers Revealed

In the final days of wheeling and dealing in the NBA, Brad Turner and Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the L.A. Times have revealed the six players the Lakers are targeting in trades before Feb. 5.

According to some of those NBA folks, the names that have been attached to the Lakers as potential trade targets are Dallas’ Naji Marshall, a former Doncic teammate, Cleveland’s De’Andre Hunter, Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo and Sacramento’s Keon Ellis. New Orleans’ Troy Murphy III and Herbert Jones are two players the Lakers have shown some interest in — as have many other teams — but NBA people say the asking price is so high that teams are waiting to see if that comes down by the deadline next week.

One thing that continually comes up in these trade rumors is that the price is simply too high for the Lakers. However, the asking prices for these players will likely change frequently in the final stretch, which could put Los Angeles in the running to acquire one or more of them.

Among the names mentioned, Marshall and DiVincenzo are the only ones to have surfaced for the first time regarding the Lakers' interest in acquiring before the deadline. Both are intriguing additions, with Marshall having a connection with Doncic and being a player who has taken his game to the next level during his time with the Dallas Mavericks.

As for DiVincenzo, he's having a career year with the Minnesota Timberwolves over the course of the 48 games he's played. The Villanova product is averaging career-high numbers in points (13.3) and assists (4.2) per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent from three-point range. He's also a formidable perimeter defender who plays with effort every night, averaging slightly below his career high (1.5) in steals at 1.4 per game.

It'll be interesting to see over the course of this week which of these players becomes a realistic option for the Lakers, and whether the team ultimately decides to make moves or stand pat, to be super aggressive on the trade market in the summer.