As the Los Angeles Lakers scour the market for a 3-and-D wing ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, one name that has recently surfaced is Los Angeles Clippers’ Derrick Jones Jr., who was a teammate of Luka Doncic when the Slovenian led the Dallas Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals.
According to The Athletic’s Dan Woike, the Lakers could target Jones due to his experience playing alongside Doncic, not to mention the Clippers’ disastrous season that will likely end with them surrendering the first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Since the Clippers are in a dire situation, they could implement a fire sale of their roster, making Jones potentially available, noted Woike.
Lakers Trade Target: Derrick Jones Jr.
“Another player worth monitoring will be LA Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr,” the Lakers beat writer reported on Dec. 19.
“He’s already shown how valuable he can be next to Dončić when they played together on the Dallas Mavericks, and with the Clippers’ combination of losing and lack of draft assets, they’d have to listen to reasonable offers.”
Jones is averaging 10.5 points on 35% shooting from three in his second season with the Clippers. Over the past few years, he has established himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, after starting all 22 games for the Mavericks during their magic 2024 playoff run. This year, he has held elite perimeter scorers like Devin Booker (33%), Stephen Curry (33%) and D’Angelo Russell (25%) to subpar shooting percentages as the primary defender, per Spectrum tracking data.
The Athletic named New Orleans Pelicans‘ Herb Jones, Sacramento Kings’ Keon Ellis, Miami Heat’s Andrew Wiggins, Brooklyn Nets’ Terrance Mann, Charlotte Hornets’ Josh Green and Chicago Bulls‘ Ayo Dosunmu as other potential Lakers trade targets.
Lakers Hunt for Defensive Upgrades
It’s worth noting that Josh Green is another player with a history of playing next to Luka Doncic. The Hornets wing played four full seasons with Doncic before the latter was infamously traded to the Lakers during the 2024-25 season.
Any of those defensive-minded wings could help a Lakers team that ranks 22nd in defense and has had issues against speedy, dribble-penetrating guards. After being torched by the San Antonio Spurs trio of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper in the NBA Cup quarterfinal, the Lakers gave up 78 first-half points to the Utah Jazz on Thursday, with Keyonte George scoring at will and facing no resistance.
The Lakers’ defensive woes have been so publicized that head coach JJ Redick has rued that containing the basketball is “the most difficult thing” for his team right now, and that opponents have repeatedly “exposed” them through the first 26 games.
Despite all those issues, the Lakers (19-7) are just one game behind the second-seeded Denver Nuggets (20-6). Many analysts feel a quality perimeter defender next to Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves would make a huge difference to their playoff hopes.
The Lakers own one tradeable first-round pick (2031 or 2032) to use in trades, but have several expiring contracts — Rui Hachmiura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber — that can prove attractive to teams looking to dump salary for the 2026 offseason.
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