Here comes the big fish that the lakers are thinking about....
According to Woj's revelations, with the Hawks unexpectedly picking the No. 1 pick in the draft with a 3% chance, it also gives them a great opportunity to rebuild their roster. They have restarted trade talks for Dejounte Murray, and there is a good chance that the Hawks and Trae Young will open trade talks.
Shams, another authoritative reporter, also revealed that if Trae Young doesn't think the Hawks have any plans to build another competitive team for him, then he and the Hawks will start a serious conversation, which is expected to begin this week and continue through draft night.
All of this indicates that Trae Young is likely to have entered the countdown to leaving, and even if Trae Young does not leave, then Murray's departure this summer is basically a foregone thing, and the backcourt duo has declared a complete failure in the past two years.
For the Lakers, it really feels like their opportunity is coming, the Lakers need to strengthen the most at the moment is an outside offensive strength, and there are not many teams interested in Trae Young at the moment, the Lakers will be able to free up three first-round picks that can be traded in the draft, which creates an opportunity for them to operate.
Is Trae Young like this a good fit for the Lakers? The answer is obvious, although Trae Young is trapped in size constraints and difficult to become the leader of a championship-winning team, if he can come to James Mei as the No. 3 man and serve as the team's top scorer on the outside, it will be a good choice for both the Lakers and Trae Young.
This season, Trae Young played in a total of 54 games for the Hawks, averaging 36 minutes per game, handing over 25.7 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.2 three-pointers, shooting 43% + 37.3% from the field and 58.5% from the field.
For comparison, Trae Young's data for the past 2 years are as follows....
- 28.4 points, 9.7 assists and 3.1 three-pointers in the '21-22 season
- 26.2 points, 10.2 assists and 2.1 three-pointers in the '22-23 season
From the beginning of his entry into the league, Trae Young's survival formula was three-point shooting, which Trae Young proved his outside firepower even at the defensive level that the Hawks encountered as the leader of the team. At the same time, it cannot be ignored is his organizational ability, he has averaged double-doubles in assists per game for 2 consecutive seasons, three-point + organization, which also happens to meet the Lakers' needs for the third big man.
If he can be by Zhan Mei's side, then it will create a lot of open three-point opportunities for Trae Young, and Trae Young will get an unprecedented playing environment, and his efficiency may usher in a wave of skyrocketing. At the same time, his arrival can also reduce the pressure on James to hold the ball and focus more on the playoffs.
There are actually not many targets for the Lakers to start this summer, although Mitchell will be a better choice, but the Cavaliers' asking price for him will definitely not be low, and there is basically no possibility with the chips that the Lakers can provide, so seizing the opportunity to get Trae Young is the best solution at the moment.
This is also a test of the Lakers management's ability to operate, Russell has a $18.69 million player option for next season, and at present, it seems that he is very likely to jump out of this option, and if the Lakers want to reach a deal, they can negotiate with Russell to sign and trade.
In addition, Reaves and Hachimura may also join the deal, but for the Lakers is already an unbroken situation, it is almost hopeless to continue to keep this seemingly good team to win the championship, rather than so, it is better to stud a big one, after all, James is really running out of time on the court.