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It's official: the Los Angeles Lakers will not be making the NBA Finals for the fourth season since winning the 2020 season. So where do they go from here? These are the trades they must make to become competitive again.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers have a very strong core to build a future challenger around. However, with James turning 40 this year, time is starting to run out to use the talents of one of the greatest players ever.
Throughout 2023, the NBA legend averaged 25.7 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 8.3 assists per game with a 54% field goal percentage so his talent is clearly there, whilst Davis posted 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists with a 55.6% field goal percentage showing how good they are.
But the players around them cannot match similar heights, which is partially why the team finished with a .573 record (47 wins), trailing the Western Conference leaders by 10 wins come the end of the season.
In fact, there are six better teams than them within their Conference alone. That expands to 10 if the Eastern Conference is included, with a further three teams occupying the same record. So here's who they need to move on to go above .600 in 2024/25.
D'Angelo Russell, Taurean Prince and Jalen Hood-Schifino for Zach LaVine
The aim of this trio's exit would be to acquire the Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine. It's harsh on Russell, who has been a solid player for the Lakers, but someone needs to be offered to get the Bulls to bite and it's his scalp that rolls.
The target? A LaVine who had been in excellent form and consistently delivered prior to his injury this NBA season in a Bulls outfit that is a shadow of what its legacy is as they finished below .500 once again.
LaVine offers a reliable product that, despite his talent, Russell has simply been unable to reproduce making the two-time All-Star a good catch to bring to the Crypto.com Arena.
Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Jalen Hood-Schifino for Dejounte Murray
Murray has been a star for the Atlanta Hawks, but like LaVine's Bulls, they've also failed to impress as they finished 2023/24 with a .439 record (36 wins), narrowly qualifying for the Play-In games.
So, to get him away from the Eastern Seaboard and to the warm weather of sunny California, the Hawks could be tempted with Hachimura. The Japanese player is aged 26 and has shown flashes of what he can do in LA but, like Russell, has lacked the ability to consistently deliver that product.
Murray could also be a far cheaper version of pushing for Trae Young and he could fill in an important scoring vacuum to help take some of the pressure away from James and Davis, who are exceptional. Murray averaged 22.5 points per game in 2023, which is almost at the same standard as the 31-year-old Davis and 39-year-old James.