The Los Angeles Lakers know precisely what they need to upgrade the roster ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline — add a quality wing defender or two. Unfortunately, they own only one tradable first-round pick, which reportedly lacks value around the league, and a host of expiring contracts that are tough to move, the most difficult being LeBron James’s.
Former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague strongly believes that James — who is on an expiring salary of $52.6 million — impedes the Lakers’ ability to improve the roster around their high-scoring backcourt duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
“They can’t get anybody defensively because ‘Bron take up a lot of money,” Teague said on the “Club 520” podcast on Thursday.
“They say, ‘We need more defense.’ Why would you trade AR, who’s 27 and playing at an All-Star level, when you have a 40-year-old who’s on his last leg?”
Limited Lakers Trade Options
To Teague’s point, James — who has a no-trade clause — takes up a chunk of the Lakers’ payroll despite averaging a career-low 16.5 points on 30% shooting from three.
Furthermore, the Lakers’ only tradeale first-round pick (2031 or 2032) doesn’t have much value around the league, per The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
“According to league sources, that future Lakers pick, which could be in 2031 or 2032, is less valuable than it was viewed both before the Luka Dončić trade and since Mark Walter’s acquisition of the franchise,” Woike reported on Dec. 11.
“The belief is that since Walter has proven to be an effective owner with the Los Angeles Dodgers, that he and whoever he entrusts the franchise to will, at minimum, keep it from the kind of freefall that would truly make that future first-round pick less of a lottery ticket.”
A Tough Task for Lakers
It also doesn’t help that the Lakers’ other expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber are viewed as negative assets, unless the Rob Pelinka-led front office attaches a first-round pick and Dalton Knecht in a potential deal.
That exact package won’t be enough for the Lakers to net New Orleans Pelicans wing Herb Jones, an All-Defensive talent who Los Angeles reportedly covets.
“Considering what LA would have to offer in a deal, expiring contracts and a single first-round pick, the Pelicans almost certainly wouldn’t engage at that price point,” Woike reported on Dec. 11 on a potential Lakers trade for Herb Jones.
Woike added that there’s a very slim chance the Lakers can land Jones.
“Maybe the view of the Lakers’ assets or the Pelicans’ view of Jones will change between now and the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline, but as of now, sources point out, New Orleans would need a whole lot to be convinced otherwise,” added the insider.
Andrew Wiggins is another 3-and-D player that the Lakers could target ahead of the Feb. 5 deadline. Again, the Lakers could struggle to match the Miami Heat’s reported asking price of at least one first-round pick and two rotational players.
Until James’ money comes off the books in 2026, the Lakers may very well be hamstrung and unable to upgrade the roster around Doncic and Reaves.
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