3 Stars Seemingly Ruled Out as Trade Targets for Lakers

Lakers fans are desperately waiting for their front office to finally stop twiddling their thumbs and make a trade. They are in tenth place in the Western Conference and look like they are headed to the Play-In once again, barring a major trade.

A lot of names are being thrown around as potential Lakers targets. Jovan Buha of The Athletic recently named six names that are on the Lakers' shortlist. It includes Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Bruce Brown, Jerami Grant, Rob Williams, and Kyle Kuzma. Another name commonly linked to the Lakers is scoring big man Jonas Valanciunas.

Who the Lakers will end up trading for remains to be seen, but we now have a better idea of who they are not targeting. In the same article, Buha reports that the Lakers are "not in the mix for" Jimmy Butler, Brandon Ingram, and Zach LaVine.

"The Lakers are not anticipated to be heavily in the mix for Miami’s Jimmy Butler, New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram or Chicago’s Zach LaVine."

- Jovan Buha, The Athletic

The Lakers' lack of interest in Ingram and LaVine is certainly understandable. Ingram is not an elite off-ball player and needs the ball in his hands to be effective. That may not be the best fit next to Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. Plus, he is a free agent in the offseason, requiring a lucrative contract extension. Zach LaVine is a flawed player who would only worsen LA's defensive woes.

Rob Pelinka not kicking the tires on a Jimmy Butler trade, however, is highly questionable. The Lakers probably don't have the required assets to win the Butler sweepstakes but he would be a good fit in Los Angeles. Even though he doesn't fix the shooting concerns, he would boost the Lakers' defense and give them another elite perimeter creator. He is almost certainly the best player the Lakers can trade for this season.

It sounds like the Lakers are more interested in acquiring multiple role players than bringing in a third star. Regardless of which direction they go, it is of utmost importance that they act quickly before they fall further in the standings.

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