With the face of the franchise closing in on the heart of his prime, the Los Angeles Lakers’ time to make game-changing moves is now.
The Lakers are now well over a year into the Luka Doncic era. Everything revolves around Doncic. And for the 27-year-old Lakers star to deliver his best, L.A. must work strategically to assemble the right pieces on the roster.
Los Angeles captured the third seed in the Western Conference, largely thanks to a furious run in March that saw the team go 16-2 and look every bit as dominant as the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
Now how can the Lakers capitalize on that winning blueprint they briefly discovered last season?
Is it Time for a Lakers Big 4? How the Lakers Could Grab Kawhi Leonard
GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 22: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball against Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers in the first half at Intuit Dome on January 22, 2026 in Inglewood, California.
There’s always a chance a team goes all in, especially if it possesses a generational talent approaching the peak of his powers. One move the Lakers could make is trading for Kawhi Leonard, according to CBS Sports writer Sam Quinn.
In a proposed three-team trade, the Lakers land Leonard while the Clippers acquire Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Luke Kennard, Maxi Kleber and a 2032 first round pick. The Brooklyn Nets land Clippers forward Nic Batum and two 2032 second round picks.
“And if I’m the Lakers? I 100% make a call. Not a ‘we’ll go all in’ call,” Quinn wrote. “But a ‘we’ll give you (expiring contracts) and a swap if you want to go for cap space this summer, but we have to nudge Vanderbilt’s contract in here to match money’ call.”
Acquiring Leonard would make the Lakers enormously top heavy. Although that’s not an ideal formula to win games in today’s NBA, it would be monumentally entertaining to watch the most popular team in basketball trot out a lineup of Doncic, Leonard, Austin Reaves and LeBron James — a Big Four that would account for the best starting lineup in the NBA.
Bringing in Leonard makes more sense if the Lakers are able to retain James. Leonard and James are in the latter stages of their careers, so chasing another veteran star would be consistent with the Lakers’ short-term championship ambitions.
Just How Formidable Would L.A. Be With Leonard?
GettyKawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers controls the ball against Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers.
It would surely be a chemistry experiment simply because there are four stars who need the ball. That is a potentially large drawback of this scenario, but all four players are enormously talented. One would figure Doncic, Leonard, Reaves and James would discover a way to make things work.
If the Clippers make Leonard available for trade, the seven-time All-Star will attract multiple interested teams. Leonard is coming off a season in which he registered the highest scoring average of his 15-year career. He was also (surprisingly) healthy for most of the year.
Leonard, 34, only has one year remaining on his contract. If things blow up, the worst case scenario is that the Lakers don’t re-sign Leonard and allow him to walk as a free agent.
But it’s difficult to imagine this L.A. team wouldn’t at least put a scare into the titans of the West.
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