Lakers Top Trade Target This Offseason is Now Reportedly Available

The Los Angeles Lakers are entering a pivotal offseason. After flaming out in the first round of the playoffs, they moved on from coach Darvin Ham, and will likely make significant changes to their roster in the summer.

The elephant in the room is obviously the LeBron James contract situation. He hasn't committed to the Lakers yet but all signs point to the 39-year-old superstar staying in Los Angeles. To ensure that he stays and has a competitive team in his final years in the NBA, the Lakers front office has to nail this offseason.

This means that they need to upgrade this roster. Outside of LeBron and Anthony Davis, the number of high-level playoff-caliber players on the team is lacking. Austin Reaves failed to establish himself as a high-end third option on a good team, and the rest of the team doesn't have enough two-way talent to support James and Davis.

Therefore, it behooves the Lakers to trade for another star to increase the overall talent level on this roster. They need an offensive dynamo who can take some of the workload from James on that end of the floor.

Fortunately for them, their ideal trade target is available. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Atlanta Hawks are seriously considering trading Trae Young this offseason.

NBA News: Trae Young Trade Talks Are Happening

The Hawks won the first-overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. This likely signals that a rebuilding is looming in Atlanta. The No. 1 selection, combined with the massive haul they can get by trading Trae Young can set them up very nicely for the future.

This is also an excellent opportunity for the Lakers. Young is the sort of player the Lakers desperately need. One of the best passers and playmakers in the league, Young would make an excellent pick-and-roll pairing with both Davis and James. He would be the primary creator for this team while LeBron & AD conserve their energy for the defensive end of the floor, which they will need to because of the defensive deficiencies created by Young.

The 25-year-old point guard averaged 25.7 points and 10.8 assists last season while hitting 37.3% of his threes. His shooting gravity will create much-needed spacing for the rest of the Lakers to take advantage of.

The Lakers have three first-round draft picks that they can trade in the offseason. They would need to include Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves to make the salaries match in a potential deal. Signing and trading D'Angelo Russell would be another option to make the math work in this trade.

Regardless of how the deal is made, Trae Young would be an excellent addition to Los Angeles, and it's certainly worth pursuing for the Lakers.

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