REPORT TRADE: $203M Star Labeled as Top Trade Target For Lakers

In this story:

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to make another push toward another NBA title this year.

The team has started the season off well but if they want to truly contend, the front office will likely need to execute a big trade ahead of the Feb. deadline.

Los Angeles has plenty of holes along the roster, mainly in the frontcourt and on the wing.

But the team has also been connected to multiple star players as they try to build a more competitive roster.

Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report put together a list of prime trade targets for each NBA team. For the Lakers, Charlotte Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball was listed.

Ball would present the Lakers with a third star player next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

His play-making skills would fit in well alongside the two stars and he would give them more firepower to contend for a title.

The biggest obstacle with landing Ball would be the history of the star with the team. His brother, Lonzo, was drafted by Los Angeles years ago and the Lakers then traded him.

His father, LaVar, has consistently gone against the Lakers organization for trading Lonzo. But LaMelo could always not care and want to play for his hometown squad.

LaMelo would fit in well and could help the Lakers have a post-James era star duo with Davis.

For the year, LaMelo has averaged 31.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per game for the Hornets.

Getting a player like LaMelo would take a lot of pressure off James to run the offense. The guard can also get his own shot on the offensive end of the floor, something Los Angeles has been lacking from their players.

The trio of LaMelo, Davis, and James would be one of the best in the NBA and it would put the Lakers directly into the spotlight of title contenders.

It would cost a lot for Los Angeles to land LaMelo from Charlotte but he is the kind of player that the team would sell the farm for.

LaMelo is only 23 years old so he still has a lot of basketball left to go. This is just one way for the Lakers to improve but if he were to become available, Los Angeles should look to strike.

Related Posts

BAY IDENTITY SWITCH: Will Richard walks into Golden State and drops a fresh nickname like a declaration, not trying to blend in but to flip the vibe, and suddenly the room sits up — that’s rookie confidence with teeth. No hype needed, no dramatic rollout — just ice-cold self-branding from a guy who knows in Warrior land, names aren’t labels, they’re warnings. And as the new moniker hits the air, the Bay doesn’t laugh — it locks in, because sometimes a name change is the first crack of thunder before a new era hits..ll

Since leaving Florida, Will Richard has found an NBA home with the Golden State Warriors.

BAY CONSPIRACY SIREN: An NBA analyst just blew the lid off the whispers and said the quiet part out loud — the league is straight-up stacking the deck against the Warriors, forcing Golden State to fight refs, schedules, and phantom hands pushing them down. No more “coincidence talk,” this hit like a blade: the NBA is bending the path, and the Bay lit up from locker room to stands. This isn’t complaining — it’s a battle cry, because if anyone thinks GSW will bow, they’re about to watch them weaponize outrage and torch the script instead..ll

The Golden State produced their first major letdown game of the season on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks, with Steve Kerr lamenting his team’s mental and

BAY RECKONING MODE: The loss to the Bucks stung, but Jimmy Butler stood in the Warriors’ storm and dropped a line that screamed grit — “flowers and daisies come after the dirt,” turning pain into fuel instead of panic. No excuses, no soft landing — just a warrior vibe that says this team wasn’t built to stroll gardens but to grow through fire and bloom out of ashes. And the moment those words hit the room, the Bay felt it: the flowers aren’t gone — they’re loading, waiting to explode and remind the NBA what Golden State resurgence smells like..ll

Golden State Warriors All-Star Jimmy Butler explained how the team can recover after a draining loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

CHICAGO ASCENT MODE: Josh Giddey doesn’t just drop a career night — he cements Chicago’s perfect run with a rhythm so composed it feels engineered, pushing whispers from “hot streak” to “new power forming in real time,” and as the scoreboard erupts while the Bulls stay untouched, the question shifts from “how long can they keep this up?” to “who’s fearless enough to stop them before this becomes inevitable”..ll

The Australian guard tallies a career-high 32 points in the 135-125 NBA Cup win over the New York Knicks. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

CHICAGO SYSTEM IGNITION: The Bulls don’t just pass their first real test — they weaponize an equal-touch offense into a precision machine that slices the Knicks without needing a hero, and as the ball moves, roles blur, and control never wavers, whispers rise that Chicago may have stumbled onto the most dangerous formula in basketball: winning through a system, not a savior..ll

At 5-0, the Bulls are off to their best start since the 1996-97 season.

CHICAGO REBIRTH SURGE: Giddey and Vucevic don’t just torch the Knicks 135-125 — they flip a switch that feels like the old Bulls DNA waking up after 29 silent years, and suddenly that 5-0 start stops looking like early-season hype and starts feeling like a threat from a team remembering it’s supposed to hunt, while the rest of the league watches tight-chested wondering whether this is a spark or the return of a monster built to swallow a season whole..ll

CHICAGO (AP) – Josh Giddey scored a career-high 32 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists, Nikola Vucevic added 26 points, and the Chicago Bulls beat the…