3 Lakers on the Trade Block This Offseason

The Los Angeles Lakers are about to have a busy offseason. First, they need to hire a new head coach. Then, they have to make all the right moves to not only convince LeBron James to stay for another season but also take advantage of their small championship window.

Considering that they don't have any significant cap space, the Lakers will have to rely on the trade market. They have been linked to superstars like Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young. They will use their three first-round picks to try to land a third star. While doing so, they are going to need to use some of their players for salary-matching purposes.

Here are the three likeliest Lakers to be traded.

Rui Hachimura

The 26-year-old combo forward signed a three-year, $51 million contract last offseason. He was fine all season, averaging 13.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 26.9 minutes per game in 68 appearances. Hachimura is certainly a helpful player but it's hard to argue that he has been worth $17 million per year for the Lakers.

With their financial circumstances, the Lakers can't afford to have too many negative-value contracts on their books. They have to nail all the salaries on their books around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. With that goal in mind, they can't be paying a non-starting caliber forward $17 million a year.

Hachimura is the perfect salary to use in a trade. Plus, he is still relatively young and plays an important position. There will be teams interested in him. The best move the Lakers can make this offseason is to package Hachimura's contract with some draft capital for a roster upgrade, even if it's not for a superstar.