The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney this offseason, but are reportedly still monitoring the market for a big man.
“The Lakers are still monitoring the market for big men, team sources told The Athletic,” Lakers insider Dan Woike reported recently.
“They traded for Walker Kessler and signed Kevon Looney to play center, and [Sandro] Mamukelashvili can play the position, too. The team could address the position either by trade or signing, like with potentially adding [Matisse] Thybulle.”
A Lakers trade idea doing the rounds would flip Jaden Hardy for Denver Nuggets big man Zeke Nnaji, who won a championship alongside Nikola Jokic in 2023.
Lakers Trade Pitch for Zeke Nnaji
Lakers would receive: Zeke Nnaji
Nuggets would receive: Jaden Hardy
The straight up one-on-one trade would see the Lakers take on Nnaji’s $7.4M salary, while the Nuggets acquire Hardy’s $6M expiring deal. Nnaji has a $7.4M player option for next season, but that shouldn’t be viewed as a big risk since he can be moved again.
The Lakers could potentially ask the Nuggets to sweeten the pot with a second-round pick, given that Denver is desperate to reduce its payroll to avoid financial penalties.
Why the Lakers Do It
The Lakers have multitude of reasons to execute this hypothetical trade. For starters, Kessler and Looney don’t inspire confidence as the only members of the front-court rotation. While Kessler played just five games last season for the Jazz after undergoing shoulder surgery, Looney appeared in 21 games for the Pelicans due to various injuries..
Furthermore, Hardy, who was acquired as part of the Deandre Ayton trade, is projected to be lost in the shuffle of the Lakers’ deep backcourt rotation. The veteran guard is expected to battle for minutes with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Bronny James, rookie Cameron Carr and Matisse Thybulle. As such, it makes perfect sense for the Lakers to flip Hardy for a big man, filling a roster void.
Why the Nuggets Do It
Hardy showed the ability to be a solid backup point guard during his time with the Dallas Mavericks. He continued to shine with the Washington Wizards, where he averaged a career-high 12.6 points in 23 games, while making an impressive 2.5 threes per game at an impressive clip of 42%.
Denver quietly upgraded its backcourt depth behind Jamal Murray this summer by retaining Tyus Jones and signing Lonnie Walker IV. However, adding a young scoring option like Jaden Hardy would fully round out the guard rotation, while offloading Zeke Nnaji would simultaneously help reduce their burgeoning payroll.
It also helps that Hardy’s contract contains a $6M team option for 2027-28, which the Nuggets can simply decline if he doesn’t prove to be a good fit.
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