The Lakers are on a 5-1 upswing right now, most recently winning back-to-back games in San Antonio to improve to 7-11 on the season. That’s still good for just 13th in the West and two games behind the Warriors for 10th and the final play-in spot, but it’s a considerable improvement from where they started at 2-10.
As such, the question of what the Lakers front office should do as trade season approaches remains ever present, with the Lakers’ top stars still making it known that they want upgrades, with another report emerging on Monday that the “leaders in the locker room” (not hard to guess who that is) believe they’re only a couple players away from being a contender. The front office is less keen on moving their last remaining draft assets, but the next two-plus weeks will be pivotal in determining their decision-making for this season.
December 15 looms as the unofficial start of trade season in the NBA, as that is the day players signed this offseason are eligible to be dealt, opening up far more possibilities for teams to get involved in deals. If L.A. can continue its run and push towards .500 or better by that time, then Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss may have little choice but to seriously explore the trade market. While Russell Westbrook plus picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield remains the most talked about trade that hasn’t happened, L.A. could also start to explore other options to bolster the roster.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, one of their biggest additions of this offseason, Patrick Beverley, could be considered in trade discussions by the front office, as his $13 million salary is one of just a few that is above a minimum and could yield a more impactful player in return.
One name to watch is Patrick Beverley, who’s the fourth-highest-paid player on the team at $13 million. Beverley is a still an elite defender and one of the group’s vocal leaders, but he’s averaging a career-low 4.1 points per game and shooting a career-worst 23.8 percent on 3s. Beverley, like Kendrick Nunn, could still have value on teams looking for veteran backcourt help. The Lakers’ needs and glut of guards make both expendable.
While I’d push back on Nunn having much value at this point, Beverley does even though he is among those really dragging down the Lakers’ offensive spacing. There would be plenty of teams willing to overlook that in order to try and add his energy and edge, because, for all his antics — which currently have him serving a three-game suspension for shoving Deandre Ayton — Beverley can bring some needed juice to a team, as evidenced by his one-year in Minnesota where he filled a vocal leadership void that the Timberwolves are still trying to figure out after trading him this offseason.
While dealing Beverley wouldn’t net a Hield or Turner, he could possibly bring in a much-needed 3-and-D wing and allow the Lakers to make a splashier move without dealing their coveted 2027 and 2029 first round picks. Whether that would satiate LeBron James and Anthony Davis is an entirely different question, but it might be something Pelinka is more willing to try.
