The February 6 trade deadline is right around the corner and Lakers fans are desperately hoping for moves from their front office.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are having excellent seasons and with the right team around them, they could potentially carry the Lakers to a deep postseason run.

The Lakers can trade two first-round picks and multiple pick swaps at the deadline to improve the roster.

They could use young players like Max Christie or Dalton Knecht to sweeten any deal while using the likes of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Jarred Vanderbilt as matching salaries. Let’s take a look at who the Lakers could realistically acquire.

Jonas Valanciunas

The veteran big man has long been a rumored Lakers target. When he was a free agent last offseason, it was reported that Valanciunas was on LeBron James’ shortlist of players he would take a pay cut for.

Whether there was sufficient interest from the Lakers in the summer is unclear but Valanciunas ended up signing a three-year, $30 million deal with the Wizards. Washington is in a rebuilding mode and is looking to part ways with its veterans in exchange for future assets.

Anthony Davis recently put pressure on the Lakers front office to trade for another big man. While Valanciunas, due to his slow foot on defense and lack of shooting on offense, isn’t the perfect fit next to AD, he may be the most easily acquirable center on the market. This makes him an obvious and realistic target for the Lakers.

The 32-year-old center would likely cost the Lakers second-round picks and the matching salary of Gabe Vincent or Jarred Vanderbilt. Valanciunas would give the Lakers a dominant post player with an offensive rebounding element to his game.

Walker Kessler

Valanciunas may not be the cleanest fit in Los Angeles but Walker Kessler certainly is. The biggest obstacle in front of the Lakers to be true championship contenders is their lack of sufficient defense and rim protection outside of Anthony Davis.

With his ability to play next to AD while also anchoring the defense when AD is not on the court, Kessler is the ideal trade target for the Lakers. The third-year player is one of the best young rim protectors in the league. The frontcourt of LeBron James, AD, and Kessler would be very hard to score on inside the arc.

The offensive fit of Kessler is less perfect. He is more comfortable around the rim and doesn’t have a range outside a few feet around the basket. He can catch the ball and finish if he gets the ball in the right place, but his offensive game is limited outside of rim running, offensive rebounding, and finishing.

If they trade for Kessler, the Lakers will hope that the defensive improvement will more than compensate for the potential spacing issues on the other end of the floor.

One issue in this scenario is Kessler’s price tag. The 23-year-old center is on a team-friendly contract and fits Utah’s rebuilding timeline. The Lakers would likely need to send an unprotected or lightly-protected first-round pick to the Jazz to acquire Kessler. Whether that makes more sense than holding onto your assets for a bigger move down the line is up for debate.

Collin Sexton

A Utah Jazz player who might be easier to acquire for the Lakers is scoring guard Collin Sexton. The 26-year-old is having another productive season, averaging 18.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in only 29 minutes per game.

He is doing so with solid efficiency on 47.9/41.4/89.0 shooting splits on a Jazz team bereft of talent. He is one of only two perimeter creators on the team alongside Lauri Markkanen. On a team with more offensive talent, Sexton could take his game to the next level with increased efficiency.

The most important aspect of Sexton’s game for the Lakers is his ability to play both on and off the ball. He could be the primary creator and lead bench units while being able to play alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves. His shooting ability makes him an off-ball threat, which unlocks things offensively for LA’s two stars.

Sexton plays with a ton of energy and intensity but can still be a defensive liability. He is not the most physically dominant player at six-foot-three and 190 pounds. A backcourt duo of Reaves and Sexton would surely create some defensive issues that JJ Redick would have to solve.

However, Sexton is on a team-friendly contract through the end of the 2025-26 season. He should be gettable with the package of a protected first-round pick and Rui Hachimura. He could perhaps be in a trade package together with Walker Kessler in exchange for more assets going Utah’s way.

The Lakers need to reduce the workload on LeBron and AD in the second half of the season to keep them as fresh as possible for the playoffs. Sexton isn’t a perfect player but he can take a lot of shot-creation burden off the Lakers’ superstars. That alone makes him a fascinating fit in Los Angeles.