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Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after forcing a turnover by Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks.
The Los Angeles Lakers have cooled off on the idea of trading for Atlanta Hawks’ three-time All-Star point guard Trae Young, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
“The Lakers, too, have shown little recent interest in Young, sources said. That could change if the price drops to L.A.’s liking. But the market for Young is as chilly as it has ever been,” Lowe wrote on July 5.
Young has three years left on his five-year, $215 million deal with a $48.9 million player option in the final year. Absorbing another large contact will limit the Lakers’ roster flexibility, which Rob Pelinka’s front office has been prioritizing since their failed Big 3 experiment with Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers have two first-round draft picks, but they have been reluctant to give them up in their several trade talks with different teams, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“They’ll certainly use them if there’s a player that makes sense as part of a bigger deal, but right now, they’re not involved in any deals that would land them a third star. They’re seeing the landscape of this league and that the three stars model, with this salary cap, doesn’t work or it’s much more difficult for it to work,” Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter.
Trae Young’s Fit With Lakers
Offensively, Young is an ideal pick-and-roll partner for Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis with the point guard’s threat from long distance. Young finished sixth with 0.98 points per possession created off pick and rolls as the ball handler last season, per NBA advanced stats.
The Hawks star shot 37.3% from the 3-point distance, hitting 3.2 3s per game on a high-volume 8.3 attempts.
His shotmaking, outside sniping and moxy are the ideal offensive hub for new Lakers head coach JJ Redick, who will prioritize shooting more 3-pointers this season.
The Lakers ranked 28th in the NBA last season in both attempted (29.4) and made (8.8) 3-pointers per game.
While Lakers current starting point guard D’Angelo Russell (career-high 41.5%) hit better than Young from the 3-point range last season, the Hawks star is a proven player in the playoffs. Young led Atlanta to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022.
Young also averaged 10.8 assists and would have been second behind LeBron James‘ 10.9 if he met the threshold of games. A finger injury forced Young to miss 23 games last season. He’s been durable for most of his career, having played at least 60 games in each of his first five seasons.
However, Young’s defensive warts could expose the Lakers in the playoffs. Based on the Lakers’ current roster, they are not yet equipped to shield Young from getting hunted on defense without a top perimeter defender.
Lakers Eyeing 3-and-D Wing More Than Trae Young
Based on recent reports, the Lakers have prioritized looking for a 3-and-D wing rather than putting all their eggs in the Young basket.
According to LA Daily’s Anthony Irwin, the Lakers have held trade talks about Portland’s Jerami Grant, Washington’s Kyle Kuzma, Toronto’s Bruce Brown and Brooklyn’s pair of Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith.
But Pelinka’s reluctance to use their draft capital is keeping the Lakers from getting any trade done.
“In each case, however, talks have hit a snag over draft compensation. In all of these negotiations, some combination of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino have figured heavily,” Irwin wrote.
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
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