The Los Angeles Lakers have been trying to revamp their roster since last season’s deadline. Rob Pelinka has been unwilling to part ways with future draft assets, thus seriously limiting the Lakers’ ability to bring in more talent.
They managed to land Patrick Beverley, which seems kind of underwhelming, given all the players they could’ve gotten for Talen Horton-Tucker one year ago. But it is what it is, and the team looks better now.
However, the latest report by Heavy’s Sean Deveney revealed that they could’ve landed Donovan Mitchell instead of Beverley. Apparently, they were only willing to give up the picks for a player of his caliber.
NBA Rumors: Lakers Could’ve Traded For Donovan Mitchell Instead Of Patrick Beverley
“It was a little strange that the Lakers and Jazz did the Beverley deal when they did because you knew they’d have more to talk about down the line,” the source told Deveney. “They (LA) had interest in Mitchell and that was something Danny (Ainge) was keeping on the back burner, but there were other offers ahead of where the Lakers were. Danny always knew he could go back to them. There is no question that the Lakers would have made the move for Mitchell if they could and the Jazz wanted those two picks (2027 and 2029).”
They Could Still Make A Trade With The Jazz
Fortunately, there’s still some hope for the Lakers. The Jazz have plenty of serviceable veterans they could use and could even absorb Russell Westbrook and the $47 million left in his contract:
“The two Lakers picks are the most powerful thing as far as picks go in the league right now,” the exec told Deveney. “Everyone expects them to be top picks, and if you can get them unprotected, everybody wants those. The Lakers only want to give up one and now you have to be thinking, if you’re the Lakers, OK, (Malik) Beasley, Bogdanovic and Jarred Vanderbilt for one of these picks and Russ? Or, you know, Clarkson or Conley in there? You’re going to want three of those five players, give up Westbrook and only deal off one of the picks. Danny (Ainge) might get more picks if he sells those off individually but he is not going to get better picks, and that is the thing the Lakers have as an advantage.”
The Lakers may want to run things back with Westbrook on the roster, but that experiment is destined to fail again. So, keep an eye on the Jazz and its veterans, as they could be wearing the purple and gold sooner rather than later.
