On January 12, Beijing time, according to the report of the American media HopsHype reporter Michael Scotto, there is news that the Lakers are interested in getting gary Trent, a flank player of the Raptors, and if they want to complete the transaction, they may need to pay chips are Horton Tucker and Nunn.
So is there a good chance that the deal will succeed? Is Trent the player the Lakers need? Let's take a closer look.
Born in 1999 and about to celebrate his 23rd birthday, Trent is 1.96 meters tall and can swing the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Last season, he was traded by the Blazers to the Raptors for Powell, signed a three-year, $51.84 million contract with the Raptors in the offseason, and his annual salary this season is $16 million, which is about the same as the annual salary of Horton Tucker and Nunn.
After signing a big contract, Trent also performed very well, averaging 16.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season, shooting 36.8% from three-point range, and obviously his shooting ability is more reliable than Horton Tucker. If you can get him, it is indeed a good reinforcement for the Lakers, but Trent is not perfect, and he also has 2 problems on him, which needs To be figured out by Pelinka before pulling the trade trigger.
First, Trent is a typical offensive strength and defensive weakness, this season his defensive efficiency value is 109.4 (losing 109.4 points per 100 rounds on the field), and at the same time, his height of 1 meter 96 is enough to play the No. 2 position, and he can force the No. 3 position to be a bit short. The Lakers now have Munch in the No. 2 position, and they need a 3D player who is tall and sufficient in the No. 3 position, can shoot and defend, and the characteristics of Trent only partially coincide with the needs of the Lakers, and do not fully meet the requirements.
Second, although the Raptors once liked Horton Tucker, last season in the Lakers' deal negotiations with the Lakers about Lowry, they also asked to join Horton Tucker, which eventually led to the collapse of the deal. But at this time, after trading Trent, their demand for Horton Tucker is bound to decrease, and Nunn has been injured and difficult to help the Raptors.
Coupled with the fact that the Raptors are now ranked No. 8 in the East, there is a chance to compete for playoff tickets or at least play playoffs, in this case, even if they are willing to let go of the more powerful Trent, it is bound to let the Lakers take other chips, such as the Lakers' only 27-year first-round draft pick.
Although this first-round draft pick is a bit far away, from the perspective of winning in the present, the Lakers can indeed make this first-round pick, but the problem is that as mentioned earlier, Trent is a good player, but he is more suitable for playing the No. 2 position, if you force the top 3, there will be a problem of poor defense due to short height. At the same time, his contract is also very large, and this season is only the first year of the contract, once the transaction is not good, smashed in the hand, the Lakers want to get rid of him is also difficult, but also completely lost the chip.
So for the Lakers and Pelinka, it's better to stay on the sidelines first, and if there are other more suitable targets, you should abandon Trent. And if you really can't find a good trading target in the end, and Horton Tucker still can't practice stable shooting, then Pelinka may consider taking a big gamble.