The Los Angeles Lakers are prime candidates to make a move for another high-level star to render them more competitive in a stacked Western Conference next season.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN posited on Tuesday, January 25, that Collin Sexton of the Utah Jazz is among the names he has heard most often when speaking with other NBA teams about who Los Angeles might key on in trade discussions.
“The Lakers likely will explore the trade market to see what type of veterans they can add to give LeBron James, Anthony Davis and new coach JJ Redick the best chance of competing this season, with NBA players such as Dejounte Murray and Collin Sexton being batted around by rival teams as possible targets,” Givony wrote.
Collin Sexton Can Add High-Level Offense to Lakers Lineup
GettyCollin Sexton of the Utah Jazz drives to the basket against Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA game.
Sexton is a career 18.9 points per game scorer but has proven himself capable of more, putting up 24.3 points per night during the 2020-21 campaign when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He put up 18.7 points, 4.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 steals per contest last year as a member of the Jazz across 78 games played, including 51 starts. Sexton has also connected on 38.3% of his career 3-point attempts. He connected on more than 39% of his 3-point tries in each of the past two seasons.
Sexton is currently playing in Utah on a four-year deal worth a total of $71 million. The agreement keeps him under contract through the 2025-26 campaign.
Lakers Will Take Hard Look at Purdue’s Zach Edey if They Keep No. 17 Pick in NBA Draft
GettyZach Edey of the Purdue Boilermakers.
The Lakers would likely include their No. 17 overall pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft as part of a trade package for Sexton or any other player of note.
Givony predicted that if Los Angeles does not move the selection, center Zach Edey of the Purdue Boilermakers is a strong candidate to end up in purple and gold next season.
Should the Lakers elect to stand pat, picking a plug-and-play center like Edey would make a lot of sense. Davis is coming off his best season in years from a durability standpoint but will likely need to have his minutes managed, and he has always preferred to play alongside another big man. Enter Edey, who can bring the Lakers some of the physicality they’ve been lacking inside the paint at times, with L.A. finishing as the NBA’s worst offensive-rebounding team last season.
Edey is an elite screener, foul-drawer and finisher, and he comes ready to help a team as the best player in men’s college basketball the past two years.
Edey averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2 assists per game during his senior campaign at Purdue. He won the Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Award in each of the past two seasons and led the Boilermakers to the Final Four and the National Championship Game in April.
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