The Lakers are still looking for another move, and a recent three-team trade idea would bring in a familiar name without asking Los Angeles to give up much at all.
In the proposal, the Lakers land Derrick Jones Jr., the Mavericks get Cameron Christie and Jarred Vanderbilt, and the Clippers take Daniel Gafford.
That kind of deal fits the reality of where the Lakers are right now. They have a solid roster, but not one that feels finished, and their limited assets make any upgrade harder than it looks. Even so, there’s room to improve if they target a player they’re willing to gamble on - someone dealing with injuries or a dip from his usual level.
Jones would fit that mold. He’s owed $10.4M in the final year of his deal, and Sai Mohan pointed out that “Jones, owed $10.4M in the final year of his deal, is not as good a three-point shooter as Washington, but is just as effective, if not a better wing defender. Furthermore, Jones has shown the ability to make big shots when counted upon, as he did during the Mavericks’ run to the 2024 NBA Finals,” Sai Mohan wrote.
He’s also already shown he can work well next to Luka Doncic. During his time with Doncic in Dallas before being traded, Jones proved he could be a useful piece in that kind of setup.
The one question in the deal is whether the Clippers would actually be interested in taking it. But if they are willing to move Jones, the Lakers would come away with a clear boost for very little outlay.
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For Doncic, the experience came during a stretch in which he was producing at an elite level for Los Angeles before a season-ending injury shut him down and ended the teams playoff hopes. Even with that disappointment, the broader takeaway from his comments was clear: Jamess habits have left a mark on teammates, and the Lakers will feel that influence long after the games themselves move on. [Read more 🡒]
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For Lakers fans, the most striking part is the way the scenario reaches all the way back to LeBron James and Cleveland, even as the mechanics of the deal would require a sign-and-trade structure to make the Harden-to-Phoenix and Green-to-Cleveland pieces work. There had not been prior buzz about Green landing in Cleveland before Morris floated the idea, which is part of what makes the whole thing feel more like offseason imagination than a real blueprint, at least for now. [Read more 🡒]
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The wrinkle is that the deal structure is not simple, and that is usually where these talks either slow down or change shape entirely. Other names have surfaced as possible pieces in a broader three-team framework, which suggests the Lakers are at least exploring different ways to make the math work without emptying the cupboard in one shot. For now, Kuminga remains in that familiar NBA limbo where the buzz is real, the fit is obvious enough to discuss, and the final answer is still waiting to be written. [Read more 🡒]