In a series events surely no one could’ve seen coming, the same flawed Los Angeles Lakers roster from the 2023-24 season that started 10-7 has started this season 10-7 (now 11-7 after beating the San Antonio Spurs) — only with a significantly worse point differential.

Replacing Darvin Ham with JJ Redick is probably going to wind up a net-positive move, but as of right now, as has been the case from the beginning, the idea that a rookie coach would step in and immediately turn last year’s mediocre team into anything significantly more than that is insane.

Historically, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka would sit back and wait for prices to come down before making a move. Waiting also gives him time to figure out if a team is worth investing in so as to give them a chance at getting over the hump.

(Quick sidebar: The problem with this line of thinking is if that was always his stance on things, he wouldn’t have traded Russell Westbrook midseason for D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt, let alone the early-season trade for Rui Hachimura. All the Lakers did that year was rally and make a Western Conference Finals)

This season, however, Pelinka may not have that luxury. L.A. currently sits sixth in the West. Only they and the Phoenix Suns currently hold negative point differentials, though Phoenix’s can be explained by Kevin Durant’s lengthy absence. They’ve lost three in a row and if they continue to slide, Pelinka might once again explain an idle trade deadline away with the fact that there’s just too much that needs to be done to fix this roster.

Could you imagine taking your car to a dealership for an oil change, only to find out they put sand in your engine instead, thus considering your car “totaled” and telling you that you needed to buy a new car? There are laws against this type of thing, thank goodness, but it’s essentially what Pelinka has done on more than one occasion as the lead basketball decision-maker.

So, with all that out of the way, let’s make some deals that would help either stop this slide the Lakers find themselves in so that they can stay afloat until the deadline, or turn the season back around altogether. To be clear, everyone I’ve spoken to close to the Lakers has indicated they’re going to wait this out until mid-December at the very earliest — when Jonas Valanciunas becomes available for trade, for example. Most likely, as Pelinka told reporters before the season, they’ll wait until January after getting a 30-game sample of who this team actually is.

Still, it’s fun to dream.

Chicago Bulls Get: D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, protected second-round pick

Lakers Get: Lonzo Ball

Trading for Lonzo Ball obviously comes with immense injury risk, but if he gets hurt again, he’s still an expiring contract the Lakers could flip with picks at the deadline for essentially the same kinds of players they were going to get for Russell, JHS and draft capital anyway.

If Ball manages to get and stay healthy, he’s an exponential defensive upgrade over Russell who is also a lot more comfortable catching and shooting from distance. Ball could stay alongside Austin Reaves and provide more athleticism and size on the perimeter, then also handle the load with second units once either Reaves or LeBron James take a seat.

For the Bulls, they get a first look at Hood-Schifino before he hits the market this summer and doesn’t add any additional salary to their books beyond this season. Ball might fetch a little more draft capital later in the year, but if he gets hurt, then that contract expires and they’d have nothing to show for it.

Washington Wizards Get: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Russell, Hood-Schifino, first-round pick, two seconds

Lakers Get: Kyle Kuzma, Malcolm Brogdon

The first thing I’m sure anyone would ask is why Washington would trade for Hachimura after drafting him and trading him to the Lakers only a couple of years ago. Fair question. This is a different front office now than the one that made those decisions and, he’s young enough and on a reasonable enough contract that he can be flipped down the road as they continue their rebuild.

For the Lakers, this is fairly straightforward. Kuzma has, at some point in his career, defended quite a bit better than Rui ever has as a Laker. He understands what it takes to succeed next to James and Anthony Davis, having won a championship in ’20.

Brogdon is a much steadier point guard than Russell, even if his highs aren’t quite as high. His medical history is certainly concerning, but at this point in the season, you aren’t going to make any move without risk. For what it’s worth, he seems to have recovered from hand surgery and has played in Washington’s last five games. He’s also 6’4″ and is quite a bit bigger than Vincent, whose effort has never been in question, but does tend to get shot over by taller players.

Toronto Raptors Receive: Hachimura, Hood-Schifino, two seconds

Lakers Receive: Jakob Poeltl

Take from this what you will, but over the summer, it was fairly common knowledge in league circles that Masai Ujiri is a fan of Hachimura’s. At a couple of points over the summer, sources close to the situation say the Lakers and Raptors had talks for Bruce Brown that involved Hachimura that obviously never really went all that far.

Poeltl would immediately become the best big Davis has played with in L.A. and, in some spots, could play with Davis, depending on the lineup. He’s a big, physical center with a good motor who finishes well around the basket. He also sets great screens and is a solid rim protector defensively.

He doesn’t space the floor at all, which is what stops him from being a perfect fit next to Davis, but at the very least, he would ensure the Lakers don’t completely collapse defensively when Davis isn’t out there.

The issue here would be that this would leave Toronto without a center, depending on how they feel about Kelly Olynyk, who hasn’t played yet this season. Ujiri normally doesn’t concede a season until the bitter end (if ever), so any deal with Toronto would have to come later in the season, unless the Lakers are willing to overpay significantly.

Raptors Receive: Russell, top-20 protected first

Lakers Receive: Brown

It’s obviously not ideal that Brown is still recovering from arthroscopic surgery in September but according to reports, he is nearing his return, once his conditioning is in order. The Lakers at one point believed they were going to land Brown in free agency, but he received that balloon payment that landed him in Indiana with the Pacers instead.

Then, the Lakers tried to trade for him at some point last season both while he was in Indiana and then after he was traded for Pascal Siakam at the deadline. They held talks with Toronto over the summer, too, but didn’t like the price then, either. Maybe, just maybe, now that Brown is an expiring contract coming off surgery, Ujiri’s asking price is a little closer to what Pelinka is willing to pay.

In terms of what Brown would bring to the court, he’s a pretty ideal fit (so long as he’s healthy, obviously). He’s a physical, gritty defender who thrived playing alongside ball-dominant players in the past. He can also handle the ball a little, himself, and could fill in for some of the creativity deficit that comes with moving Russell.

Brooklyn Nets Receive: Russell, Hachimura, Hood-Schifino, Cam Reddish, one first, one pick swap, three seconds

Lakers Receive: Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith

Most people around the league think Brooklyn is going to wait a while longer to pull the trigger on blowing up this roster and embracing the rebuild, but if the Lakers get desperate enough to overpay now, this would be pretty good value for Brooklyn. Of the contracts they’d get back, only Hachimura’s extends beyond this season. Russell returns to Brooklyn, where he made an all-star game and had that surprising playoff run.

For the Lakers, they get two wings who are far more consistent on both sides of the court than anyone on their roster. Johnson is shooting well from deep and better utilizes his length on defense than Rui. Finney-Smith would be an upgrade over Vanderbilt (beyond being healthy) defensively while not being a complete non-factor on offense.

Bulls Receive: Russell, Vincent, Hachimura, 1 first-rounder, three seconds, pick swap

Lakers Receive: Zach LaVine, Torrey Craig

Alright, let’s light that Thanksgiving table on fire with the conversations that come from this trade.

On one hand, the Lakers would be risking undoing all the work they’ve put into rebuilding at least some roster depth after their last attempt at the three-max-contract model. On the other, a lot of that depth is pretty underwhelming at this point.

Russell had a phenomenal regular season last year but once again disappeared in the playoffs. Credit to him for not moping after Redick moved him to the bench this season, but he’s been rather inconsistent and would clearly prefer a bigger role, even on a team with lower expectations.

Vanderbilt hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Yes, his energy all over the court at times changes games but between his injury issues and the fact that his shot has somehow gotten worse in his time as a Laker, overall, the Lakers were expecting more when they acquired him.

Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba could have helped in further reinforcing that depth, but Pelinka let their contracts expire in order to sign Taurean Prince and Vincent. Not great, Bob.

LaVine is having a great start to the season and, most importantly, looks healthy. He would provide the athletic force the Lakers dearly miss on the perimeter offensively and can space the floor when he doesn’t have the ball. He’d take the initiating load off James and move Reaves to a tertiary creative role, perhaps even to the bench, where his athletic deficiencies wouldn’t be quite as pronounced as they’ve been against starters.

His defensive impact has never matched his athletic abilities but, quite frankly, the Lakers’ defense can’t get much worse than it’s been. May as well get the guy who can overwhelm defenses more effectively than any Lakers guard has this season.

On top of his immediate impact, LaVine would immediately become the second-best player next to Davis in the post-James era, so long as both stay healthy. Would that pair win the Lakers a championship?

Probably not without plenty of role-player help, but they’d been an exciting tandem to move the Lakers into their next chapter once James calls it a career.