The Los Angeles Lakers have looked like one of the strongest teams in the NBA through the first three games of the 2024-25 season, but a recent mock trade makes them even stronger.

Lakers linked to Warriors’ Buddy Hield in recent mock trade

Golden State Warriors shooting guard Buddy was labeled by Colin Keane of The Sporting News as a viable trade candidate that could become available for the Lakers to pursue at some point this season.

Keane offered up the thought of Los Angeles trading away one or more of their valuable contributors in their second unit to Golden State for the sharpshooting scorer to bolster the Warriors’ frontcourt in return, saying:

“Due to Hield’s sign-and-trade deal that brought him over to the Warriors from the Philadelphia 76ers this summer, he can’t be moved right away.

For when the time comes, Los Angeles could leverage Golden State’s need for a quality big man by dangling either Jaxson Hayes or Christian Wood over to the Warriors as part of a package for Hield,” Keane wrote.

Hield is a natural scorer that could amplify the Lakers’ outside attack

Hield is a unique player. He is one of the most sound shooters in the league today. Not only so, but he supplements his stellar career 40.1 percent clip from three-point range with a natural feel for scoring everywhere on the floor.

He is currently putting up 19 PPG as one of the main focal points of the Warriors’ offense next to superstar Stephen Curry and once crossed the 20 PPG threshold with the 20.7 points he averaged per night in 2018-19.

The Lakers would thrive with a talented bucket-getter like Hield lighting up opponents off of their bench.

L.A. is set in their starting five, and are actually in the market for a stout starting center to place next to current stand-in five man and reigning All-Star Anthony Davis. Nevertheless, the Lakers giving up Hayes, Wood, or both in a deal for Hield would be advantageous.

The Lakers could give up one of their backup big men for the 6MOTY-caliber shooter

Hayes has been a strong interior presence for the Lakers this season and looks like he can have a career year giving Los Angeles quality minutes of the bench, while Wood remains sidelined with a knee injury but is a talented scorer who once averaged 19.1 PPG, 9.9 rebounds and one block a night in his last two seasons with the Houston Rockets from 2020-21 through 2021-22.

All things considered, the Lakers could benefit from moving one or the other as a trade centerpiece for Hield, and in turn, the Warriors would get either an uber athletic lob threat in Hayes or a playmaker that can give them interior scoring in Wood.