After a frustrating end to their season, the Los Angeles Lakers made a coaching change this past offseason. But switching from Darvin Ham to JJ Redick hasn’t improved their record. In fact, the Lakers are just 20-16 entering NBA games today. This is a worse pace than last year’s team, which finished 47-35 and secured the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
While it’s far too early to determine whether the Lakers will suffer the same fate as last year when they were eliminated 4-1 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, there’s a sense that they may need to make roster changes to take a significant step forward.
However, Lakers executive Rob Pelinka did recently discuss a trade that would add another All-Star to a roster that already features LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Related: NBA MVP race 2024-25
Los Angeles Lakers’ trade discussions for Zach LaVine didn’t get far
One NBA trade rumor that seemingly won’t go away involves the Chicago Bulls moving Zach LaVine. The two-time All-Star has been on the trade block for several years now, yet his $43 million cap hit has scared some teams away, along with his injury history after being limited to 25 games last season.
However, the 29-year-old has returned to health, playing in 33 of the Bulls’ 38 games this season, improving his trade value in the process. But it’s still apparently not enough to get LaVine a ticket out of town.
According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Los Angeles Lakers recently discussed a trade for LaVine, but the talks didn’t get very far.
“The Sun-Times reported last month that there was “light momentum” in trade talks with Denver, and while they weren’t completely taken off the table they have stalled. A source also said that there was early-season talk about LaVine and the Lakers, but the puzzle didn’t have the right pieces at the time. With Los Angeles moving the D’Angelo Russell contract a few weeks ago for Dorian Finney-Smith, the puzzle was all but thrown in the garbage.”
Joe Cowley on Los Angeles Lakers’ trade attempt for Zach LaVine
While discussions that would send LaVine to the Lakers could always resurface, for now the talks appear dead, with Los Angeles’ recent D’Angelo Russell trade seemingly throwing a wrench into these plans.
Related: 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year race