The Los Angeles Lakers have remade their roster this offseason but may still have one big move left to make. Recently, future Hall of Famer Klay Thompson mentioned that he'd love to play in Los Angeles, where he grew up.
That's added fuel to speculation about a potential trade involving the Lakers. They are short on assets but could still technically cobble together enough to make a reasonable offer to the Dallas Mavericks.
Of course, the Mavericks are probably wary of trading with the Lakers again after the Luka Doncic deal. However, they have an expensive roster despite clearly being in rebuilding mode.
As a result, there could be a mutually beneficial trade that may help both the Lakers and the Mavericks. Next, let's look at a proposed deal and see if both teams would agree to the trade.
A wild Klay Thompson trade would send him to the Lakers
The trade, first proposed by Sai Mohan of Yahoo Sports, would see the Lakers acquire Thompson and PJ Washington. In exchange, the Lakers would ship out Jared Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy, and the 24th overall pick, Cameron Carr, to the Mavericks.
Additionally, the Lakers would also send out a 2032 pick swap in the deal. Obviously, the Mavs would be giving up more talent in the hypothetical trade, though they would save a boatload in the deal.
Most of the players received in this potential trade would be on expiring contracts or have team or player options. That means the Mavs could slash major salary after next season, save for Carr, who is on a cheap rookie deal. As for the Lakers, they'd have plenty of reasons to do this deal.
Would the Lakers and Mavs agree to the trade?
The Lakers could use a player such as Washington as well as Thompson. Even so, I'd doubt the Mavericks would agree to the trade as is.
One reason is the Doncic trade. The other reason is that Los Angeles doesn't have any first-round picks to trade outright. Sure, they have Carr, who was taken 24th overall in this year's draft, and a 2032 first-round pick swap, which could be valuable.
Even so, that might not be enough to acquire one of the best shooters in the NBA in Thompson and a starter in Washington. Perhaps a smaller trade involving Thompson being traded for Vanderbilt, LaRavia, and two second-round picks is more realistic. With the Lakers roster slowly taking shape, that smaller trade is still possible.
Add us as a preferred source on Google