Lakers trade target: Would Bogdan Bogdanovic solve bench issues?

01/31/2025 02:01 PM

Since trading D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith, the Los Angeles Lakers have struggled to score anywhere near the rate they were with Russell on the roster. With the NBA trade deadline looming, Rob Pelinka is looking to address that issue and, according to sources with knowledge of the situation speaking on the condition of anonymity, the Lakers and Atlanta Hawks are in talks that would send trade target Bogdan Bogdanovic to Los Angeles.

In such a deal, it’s believed Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino would be going to Atlanta. The Lakers would also have to send out one more veteran minimum salary to make the contracts work, though at this time, that player could either be going to Atlanta or elsewhere as part of a bigger trade.

So, let’s take a look at the pros, the cons, and the likelihood that the Lakers pull the trigger.

The pros

Theoretically, this would be a buy-low opportunity to bring in another ball-handler who spaces the floor. Bogdan Bogdanovic is much better offensively than Vincent and would help stabilize a second unit that has been floundering in Russell’s absence.

Bogdanovic can also play alongside Reaves if the Lakers also have, say, Jarred Vanderbilt, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Anthony Davis on the court to make up for the defensive concerns.

So, in terms of the Lakers’ priorities for a ball handler brought in over the next week, Bogdanovic checks the very important boxes of fitting alongside all three of Reaves, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. Bogdanovic isn’t the defender Vincent is, but he’s a little longer and the Lakers believe they have enough defense to make up for any step back in this regard.

Bogdanovic also technically only has next year left on his contract at $16 million, then has a team option for 2026-27 for the same price as next season. So, if the Lakers do trade for Bogdanovic, they’d essentially be turning Vincent and Hood-Schifino into a larger expiring contract for this summer and next season.

The cons

Everything written in the pros is very much theoretical this season. Frankly, Bogdanovic has had a brutal campaign so far. He’s never been able to get healthy after playing in the Olympics over the summer. He’s shooting career lows across the board, scoring 10 points per game at 37.1% from the field and 30.1% from deep. He’s also turning the ball over 1.5 times per game despite playing a career-low 24.9 minutes per night.

So, if that’s the offense you’re getting, and you know he isn’t good enough defensively to make up for the lack of production on the other end, there’s tremendous risk that the Lakers would just be buying low on a player hitting the downswing of his career.

Bogdanovic is 32 years old, too, which means he wouldn’t figure into the team’s plans beyond James’ tenure.

For the price of Gabe and JHS, the risk is somewhat mitigated in that neither factor into the Lakers’ plans, either, but if this deal is eventually finalized, the Lakers would be wise to land another guard in the buyout market just to help in case this is just who Bogdanovic is at this point.

The likelihood

A couple of years ago, the Lakers and Hawks were in talks about a trade that would’ve sent Kyle Kuzma to Atlanta for Bogdanovic. Ever since, Bogi has remained on the Lakers’ radar. There is quite a bit of smoke swirling around these talks now, though it remains unclear whether this would be a straight-up swap between the two teams or if it would be part of a larger deal.

One other thing the Lakers could consider is expanding this deal and including Rui Hachimura in the hopes of landing Clint Capela, who, sources say, LA has also asked Atlanta about in their search for a center upgrade.

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