Lakers' perfect Trae Young trade offer to Hawks
07/01/2024 08:06 PM
LeBron James wants another star teammate as he approaches 40 years old, but the Los Angeles Lakers’ efforts on the trade and free agent markets haven’t worked thus far. After striking out on Klay Thompson, James Harden, and Jonas Valanciunas, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young may be one of the last semi-realistic names left.
Not only do the Hawks want to ship Young off, but the Lakers’ main competition for his services may be out of the sweepstakes for now, via The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
“Chris Paul to the Spurs likely rules out San Antonio as a Trae Young destination for now,” O’Connor explained. “At CP3’s age he’s a placeholder before the next wave of available PGs: Still Trae? Or Fox? Or maybe Stephon Castle blossoms. There’s also a star French PG in the 2025 draft: Nolan Traore.”
While Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan is also rumored to be on James’ wishlist, Young may be a better on-court fit. DeRozan is a slasher, while Young is more of a three-level scorer and facilitator. Los Angeles could use better perimeter shooting, as it ranked just 15th with a 29.9% clip from beyond the arc last year.
DeRozan, who shot 33.3% from downtown last season, is a capable shooter when open. However, Young is a bigger threat, as he recorded a 37.3% clip last year.
The issue, though, is the Lakers’ lack of assets. The team doesn’t have any premium players to give up outside of James and Anthony Davis, and it’s well of draft picks continues to dwindle.
With that being said, it’s still possible. How could Los Angeles pull off a Young trade?
The Lakers would have to give up almost all of their picks
Los Angeles doesn’t have a massive bounty of picks, but it still has enough to turn heads, via Spotrac’s NBA Trade Machine.
The Lakers currently own a first-rounder each year from 2026 to 2030, as well as second-rounders in 2025 (two), 2027, and 2030. Los Angeles could feasibly offer the following package for Young’s services:
2026 first-rounder, 2027 first-rounder (pick swap), 2028 first-rounder, 2029 first-rounder, 2030 first-rounder (pick swap), and two 2025 second-rounders.
For good measure, the squad would probably have to throw in a young player for the Hawks to develop as well, such as 21-year-old point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.
This deal would help both teams in their separate missions. While Los Angeles would have only two second-round choices left from now until 2030, the team’s offense would be significantly upgraded in time for James to take one more big swing at a championship. The team could run a starting lineup featuring Young, Austin Reaves, James, Rui Hachimura, and Anthony Davis, with D’Angelo Russell as sixth man.
Meanwhile, Atlanta would stockpile a boatload of picks in order to accelerate its rebuild. The Hawks would not be contending anytime soon, but they’d be able to draft plenty of promising talent around Jalen Johnson and 2024 first overall pick Zacharrie Risacher.
Young’s inclusion in the Lakers offense would help take pressure off of James, who could conserve more of his energy for the end of games. Although “Ice Trae” would be a defensive liability, the Purple and Gold could offset that with Davis’ elite rim protection.
It’s rare for a team to throw away almost all of its draft picks, but this may be a rare example of the stars aligning. Nevertheless, expect the Lakers to continue doing all they can to cater to “The King.”
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