Lakers Eyeing Gold Medalist in D'Angelo Russell Trade Talks

The Los Angeles Lakers are in desperate need of help after failing to sign any of this summer's top free agents. With minimal cap space remaining, the Lakers are forced to look to the trade market for additional help and one of the players who's most likely to be sent in the opposite direction is D'Angelo Russell.

If the Lakers are to acquire another All-Star level player to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, moving Russell makes a ton of sense. The veteran point guard carries an $18.6 million cap hit after opting into his 2024-25 player option earlier this month, which is an amount that could come in handy during trade negotiations.

So, who's at the top of the Lakers' radar if the goal is to move Russell in the coming weeks? As it turns out, general manager Rob Pelinka & Co. are eyeing a former Olympian.

Lakers Trade Rumors: Jerami Grant on LA's Radar

Appearing on the latest episode of the "Good Word with Goodwill" podcast, Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer revealed that Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant is one of the Lakers' top trade targets.

"To my knowledge, [Jerami Grant] is someone that's been on the radar," Fischer revealed as he discussed the Lakers' limited game-changing options at this point of the offseason. Having said that, he also added that he isn't sure if the Trail Blazers feel pressure to move Grant this summer.

After all, the ex-Syracuse product is under contract for a total around $95.9 million across the next three seasons with a $36.4 million player option for 2027-28.

Interestingly enough, Fischer's report comes a few days after The Athletic's Jovan Buha spoke about how Portland isn't interested in Russell's services. The belief is that the Trail Blazers are prioritizing a return that features two first-round draft picks, which the Lakers reportedly aren't too keen on giving up.

It isn't hard to see why the Lakers would love to acquire Grant after they lacked a consistent third-scoring option last season. The former second-round pick — who won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — has averaged at least 19.2 or more points in each of the last four seasons and is coming off a solid campaign that saw him average 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 0.8 steals across 54 games.

Meanwhile, Russell played to mixed results throughout the 2023-24 schedule. Although he was strong in the regular season, he left much to be desired come playoff time by averaging 14.2 points on .384/.318/.500 shooting splits with 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds in five games against the Denver Nuggets.

Having said that, he Lakers would still need to add another player to land Grant. Even if Russell is moved in the deal, Los Angeles would still need to add about $11.1 million in salary to make things work, meaning someone like Gabe Vincent ($11 million) or Jarred Vanderbilt ($10.7 million) could be shipped off to Portland, too.

We'll have to sit and wait, hoping that the Lakers find a way to acquire Grant (or another similar All-Star). Until then, the Lake Show is tied for the ninth-best 2024-25 NBA Finals odds (+3500) on FanDuel Sportsbook.

More Los Angeles Lakers news and analysis:

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.