On the eve of LeBron James fortieth birthday, the Los Angeles Lakers completed their first trade in almost two years, dating back to their acquisition of the trio of Malik Beasley, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt in February 2023.
The trade, an attempt to correct the errors of the costly Russell Westbrook blunder, propelled a squad that began the season 2-10 all the way to the Western Conference Finals. However, the Conference Finals sweep (along with capturing the inaugural NBA Cup trophy) has been the peak of the Lakers’ post-Westbrook iteration.
Having been dominated in the post-season by the Denver Nuggets for the past two seasons (1 win in 9 playoff games against Denver since 2023), this team needed added juice, especially defensively. General Manager Rob Pelinka delivered one of the first missing pieces to the puzzle with the addition of the highly coveted 3-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith, who will look to provide size, toughness, and defensive know-how to the Lakers’ frontcourt.
Where do the Lakers struggle?
A lack of athleticism and point-of-attack defensive personnel in the backcourt, reoccurring defensive miscommunication on the second line of defense, and an inability to secure contested rebounds have pestered the Lakers for the last few years. Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon had their way with the Lakers’ frontcourt of Anthony Davis, Lebron James, and Rui Hachimura in both playoff series meetings (both on the glass and in the paint as scorers).
Finney-Smith solves a few of these ailments as he can serve as a big body to put on the many elite wings the league has to offer. In Head Coach JJ Reddick’s switch-heavy offense, Finney-Smith also offers the versatility to switch to guards and even centers. An ESPN article by Shams Charania, released just after the trade had been completed, reads (with tracking data credited to secondspectrum.com), “Finney-Smith is the only player in the NBA this season to defend guards, forwards, and centers each for Dorian Finney-Smith has been a quality 3&D player this season at least 15 half-court matchups per game.”
Dorian Finney-Smith has been a quality 3&D player this season
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) December 29, 2024
His 2025 BBall Index grades:
Perimeter Isolation Defense: A
Ball Screen Navigation: A
C&S 3PT Shot Making: A https://t.co/H9wGqNjAp8
What Does DFS Bring to This Lakers Team?
The former Brooklyn Net, however, does not make all of the Laker’s defensive woes disappear, and more moves will still need to be made to ascend to contender status. The former backcourt pairing of D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves severely lacked the speed and athleticism to keep up with shifty scorers and ball handlers—a weakness that was relentlessly hunted by opposing guards up until Russell was benched.
The Purple and Gold have lacked a playoff-playable point-of-attack defender to pair next to the promising Reaves. Third-year player Max Christie has begun to show some flashes as a solid contributor to the rotation but could still be a massive gamble if thrust out as a starter for a team with championship aspirations. Cam Reddish has also shown flashes of being a defensive menace over the last two seasons. Still, health and offensive concerns have prevented him from becoming anything more than a rotation player.
What positions/players should the Lakers target?
Backcourt partner for Reaves
The Lakers acquired Finney-Smith without giving up any of their tradable first-round pick, which should serve as a big win to anyone associated with the franchise. This leaves them with three first-round picks to trade for potential roster upgrades. Former Denver Nugget Bruce Brown, who torched LA and specifically now-former Laker D’Angelo Russell in the 2023 playoffs, would be a good target for the open backcourt spot next to Reaves.
Brown isn’t a traditional “3-and-D” by any means but is a do-it-all hustle player with a championship pedigree that can take up some of the ball-handling duties recently vacated by Russell. He could also serve as the stand-in “point guard” during the minutes and games when James is not on the floor. For a player of his caliber, Brown is on a hefty expiring deal that shrewd Toronto exec Masai Ujiri would not want to see walk for anything. He has had his name in trade rumors since he arrived in Toronto, making him all the more getable.
Although Jarred Vanderbilt has very little, if any, trade value at the moment (due to his absence from the court for almost a full calendar year), both he and Gabe Vincent—who has been underwhelming since arriving in Los Angeles—could be adequate salary filler to facilitate a trade for Brown. Toronto could also gamble on Vanderbilt returning to the form he showed in his early months as a Laker, which could land them additional draft assets should they flip him down the line.
Center
The backup center has also been a position that has plagued the Lakers since the 2020 championship team was broken up. Both Dwight Howard and Javale McGee were allowed to walk for nothing and were replaced by Marc Gasol. Gasol had a solid enough stint with LA during the 2020-21 season but was oddly benched by Andre Drummond, who was acquired through the buyout market. The Lakers have been unable to find a decent enough replacement-level player to eat up the minutes Davis uses to catch his breaths without the team bleeding points in the paint. Trying Lebron James at the five is something former Head Coach Darvin Ham experimented with, but that did not prove fruitful either.
This is a position the Lakers will have to truly invest in if they plan on competing for a title for the short remainder of James’ career or for however long Davis remains a Laker. No one truly knows how available Walker Kessler is, but his name made multiple rounds in trade rumors over the summer, rumors that have still yet to die down.
If said rumors are even half true, the Lakers should not be shy about offering at least one of their tradable first-round picks for Kessler, who is in the third year of a 4-year/$13.3M rookie deal. LA wouldn’t have to give up much in terms of salary and would essentially be trading for an impactful starting-level player earning end-of-the-bench player money for the next two years. GM Rob Pelinka also has the ability to remove the protections on one of Utah’s four first-round picks in 2027 (which originally belonged to the Lakers but was sent over to Utah after trading away Westbrook).
Potential trade packages for both targets:
Raptors Receive: Gabe Vincent, Jared Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2025 2nd Round Pick, 2025 2nd Round Pick.
Lakers Receive: Bruce Brown.
Jazz Receive: Max Christie, 2029 1st Round Pick, Protections removed from Utah’s 2027 1st Round Pick (via LAL).
Lakers Receive: Walker Kessler, Svi Mykailiuk.
The Lakers have had their fair share of bumps this season as JJ Reddick attempts to navigate his way as a first-year head coach. However, they still find themselves five games above .500, sat as the 5th seed in what was anticipated to be an unforgiving Western Conference. They are only a game and a half behind home-court advantage in the playoffs and three games behind the number two seed, with one of the most coveted role players in the league soon to suit up in their colors. Things are looking good for the Lakers now, but they could get even better if the front office refuses to rest on its laurels.
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