The Lakers front office could be making and fielding many phone calls ahead of the 2025 NBA trade deadline, especially if their 2024-25 campaign does not go according to plan. Similarly, the Pelicans could be looking to unload All-Star Brandon Ingram after the two sides failed to agree to a contract extension in 2024.
With Ingram rumored to be available, should the Lakers attempt to trade for the player they drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2016?
Fadeaway World’s Eddie Bitar has proposed a trade that would not only reunite Ingram with the Lakers but also send Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant to Los Angeles. The proposed haul would mean the Lakers would be acquiring two 20 PPG scorers, seeing as Ingram averaged 20.8 points last season and Grant 21.0 points per game.
Lakers would get: Ingram, Grant
Pelicans would get: Deandre Ayton, Cam Redish, 2029 First-Round Pick (LAL)
Blazers would get: D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Max Christie, 2031 First-Round Pick (LAL)
Should Lakers Trade Austin Reaves?
Bitar’s trade pitch calls for Lakers to part with D’Angelo Russell, but retain fourth-year guard Austin Reaves, who is said to have a lot of believers in the organization. New head coach JJ Redick has also spoken glowingly about Reaves’ leadership intangibles and playmaking ability. Reaves has many believers within the media landscape as well, with ESPN ranking him the 72nd-best player entering the 2024-25 season, ahead of established stars such as Zach LaVine, Fred VanVleet and CJ McCollum.
That is precisely why many insiders feel Reaves holds more trade value than Russell and could be the piece that could help them land stars such as Ingram and Grant.
Earlier this year, ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins argued that the Lakers have nothing to gain by holding onto Reaves, who may or may not turn into an All-Star one day.
Grant No Longer a Lakers Trade Target?
While Grant — who has averaged over 20 PPG in four of his last five seasons — could be an intriguing addition to the Lakers, many around the league have urged the franchise to continue investing in Rui Hachimura instead of targeting the Blazers forward.
In August 2024, an anonymous NBA executive told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney that the Lakers would be wise to steer clear of Grant. The executive cited the fact that Grant had four years left on the five-year $160 million contract he inked with Portland in 2023.
“If they get Grant, I am not sure they are that much better as a team,” the executive said. “It’s a bad contract. He’s a good shooter but he is not a very good defender. I am not sure he is that much better than Rui, so if you’re giving up Rui and a draft pick? I can’t see making that move. It’s making a trade just for the sake of making a trade, and that’s always unwise.”
The executive acknowledged that Grant was a solid No. 3 option for the Lakers, behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but not the player who’d put them over the top.
“Jerami Grant can play, he is a shooter, he is a good, active defender when he is engaged, he is going to do a lot of things that help your team,” he said. “But he is a third option. He has some big numbers the last few years, but he has done it on terrible teams. No one is going to make a big trade for a guy who gives you 20 (points) on a bad team and 13 (points) on a good one.”
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