Just in: Lakers Trade mega star worth $43.0 million with a swap of three players
The Atlanta Hawks winning the NBA Draft Lottery gave the Los Angeles Lakers a much-needed boost in their summer plan to trade for three-time All-Star point guard Trae Young.
Dejounte Murray was negotiating a trade with the Hawks. At the May 12 draft lottery, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN stated, “I think the possibility of trade talks including Trae Young in this spring and into the summer are very real, too.”
Young might become available before the Hawks get their first-round choice on June 26, so Stephen Noh of Sporting News suggested a trade that might get the Lakers their third star. However, at the expense of native talent Austin Reaves, who is a fan favorite.
Noh’s Request for a Trade:
Taken by Lakers: Trae Young
Hawks acquire: 2029 first round selection, 2031 first round pick, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and this year’s No. 17 pick.
In any deal, the Lakers would have to match Young’s $43.0 million payroll. From a financial perspective, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, and Gabe Vincent would complete that swap. They might also include every one of their projected first-round picks.
For Young, this is a high price to pay. Reaves’s inclusion in particular would hurt. The Lakers might attempt to replace him with Jarred Vanderbilt, although Noh speculated that they might lose that offer.
In the weeks preceding the trade deadline, the Lakers were hesitant to include Reaves in the Dejounte Murray negotiations.
In case a bidding war breaks out between the Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, who are led by Victor Wembanyama and are considering a combination with Young, Noh pointed out that the Lakers also have five second-round picks at their disposal, as reported by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
Trae Young is of interest to the Lakers because of the trade deadline.
The Lakers did not make a trade at the February deadline in order to acquire three first-round picks in order to improve their chances of acquiring Young or another All-Star guard who can succeed LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the third banana and possibly move up to the No. 2 spot once James departs.
Young’s name kept coming up, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported in March. When ESPN’s Dave McMenamin revealed in January that the Lakers “have discussed internally the possibility of packaging three picks, along with players they already have on their books” to pursue him or Cleveland Cavaliers five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, the team made it clear that they were interested in the Hawks star point guard.
In the play-in tournament, Young averaged 25.7 points and 10.8 assists for the Hawks, who were eliminated. This season, he was the only player in the league with an average of 25 points and 10 assists.
Trae Young Leaves Klutch Sports Young left Klutch Sports, which counts James and Davis among its most prestigious customers, to join its main rival Creative Artists Agency.
On May 7, the three-time All-Star Young wrote on X, “When I say it, I really mean it.” “One More Day, One More Chance.”
How Young’s recent action would affect such a trade scenario is yet unknown.
On May 10, Buha stated on “Buha’s Block” that “Trae Young switching from Klutch Sports to CAA theoretically decreases the odds that he ends up in L.A.” Does that make it more likely that Dejounte Murray will move to Los Angeles or that he will be the one to go?
