{"id":67365,"date":"2025-06-05T07:42:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T07:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=67365"},"modified":"2025-06-05T07:42:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T07:42:57","slug":"report-lakers-blockbuster-trade-idea-gets-238-million-7-footer-to-form-new-big-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=67365","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Lakers Blockbuster Trade Idea Gets $238 Million 7-Footer to Form New Big Three"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LeBron<\/p>\n

When the Los Angeles Lakers made the trade heard around the world in February, stunning the NBA by sending four-time All-NBA first teamer Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for five-timer Luka Don\u010di\u0107 \u2014 who is six years younger \u2014 their intention was clearly to put the team in position to win one more championship while LeBron James was still playing.<\/p>\n

That did not happen.<\/p>\n

Not only did the Lakers fall to even get to the NBA Finals, they did not make it out of the first round. They did not even make it past Game Five of the first round. Despite surging to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference after the big trade, the Lakers were largely dominated by the sixth-seed Minnesota Timberwolves.<\/p>\n

So what now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lakers Face Urgency to Improve as LeBron Hits Age 41<\/strong><\/p>\n

With James entering his 23rd NBA season and turning 41 years old on December 30, the sense of urgency to get him that championship, and to tie the Boston Celtics for the NBA record 18 titles, will only get more powerful.<\/p>\n

There seems no question that the Lakers will be forced to do something to upgrade their roster, to a point where the Finals are at least in sight. But what?<\/p>\n

With their current roster, Los Angeles is already $59.8 million over the salary cap, and closing in on the first \u201capron,\u201d which carries significant restrictions on player movement and acquisitions, as well as increased \u201cluxury\u201d tax penalties.<\/p>\n

At this point, the Lakers are about $4.5 million under the first apron threshold \u2014 and $16.2 million under the second apron limit. Exceeding the second apron comes with restrictions that can cripple a team\u2019s ability to rebuild, or do much of anything at all with its roster.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, one NBA expert on Tuesday proposed a trade that would give the Lakers a significant upgrade, creating a new \u201cBig Three\u201d rather than simply the James-Don\u010di\u0107 duo, to propel the 2025-2026 version of the team well into the playoffs, and perhaps even all the way to the top.<\/p>\n

The trade idea would send seven-foot power forward, eight-year veteran Lauri Markkanen to Los Angeles, bringing his former team the Utah Jazz a package of four players, as well as the possibly most important asset if the package, a 2031 unprotected first-round draft pick.<\/p>\n

Finnish Star \u2018Best Level of Player\u2019 Lakers Can Afford<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lakers will always be on the hunt for stars yet are limited in trade assets after acquiring Luka Don\u010di\u0107 at the deadline. Markkanen is probably the best level of player Los Angeles can reasonably acquire and would be a strong third option behind Don\u010di\u0107 and LeBron James,\u201d wrote Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report.<\/p>\n

The four players on their way to Utah in Swartz\u2019s trade idea would be forward Rui Hachimura, small forward Dalton Knecht who was the Lakers first-round draft pick last year, reserve point guard Gabe Vincent, and backup big man Maxi Klebewho came over in the trade package that brought Don\u010di\u0107, but who is still recovering from a fractured right foot.<\/p>\n

The trade would relieve the Lakers of $44.7 million in total salary, while brining in Markkanen\u2019s $46.3 million for next season \u2014 the second year of the five-year, $238 million contract extension he signed with Utah last August. That keeps Los Angeles barely under the first apron.<\/p>\n

Markkanen is the only current NBA player, and only the third ever, from Finland \u2014 a country better known for producing hockey stars. After playing college ball at Arizona, the Timberwolves made him the seventh pick in the 2017 NBA draft.<\/p>\n

The just-completed season was Markkanen\u2019s third in Utah. He averaged 19 points per game, down from 23.2 the previous year and a career-high 25.6 in 2022-2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the Los Angeles Lakers made the trade heard around the world in February, stunning the NBA by sending four-time All-NBA first teamer Anthony Davis to the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nREPORT: Lakers Blockbuster Trade Idea Gets $238 Million 7-Footer to Form New Big Three - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=67365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REPORT: Lakers Blockbuster Trade Idea Gets $238 Million 7-Footer to Form New Big Three - 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