A fatal mistake the Lakers must correct at the 2025 NBA trade deadline

Los Angeles The Lakers were reportedly one of the more active teams heading into the trade seasonand in the weeks preceding NBA trade deadline. They already made one trade, acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton for D’Angelo RussellMaxwell Lewis and the Compensation Draft. But while the move certainly helped upgrade the Lakers’ roster, they’re still not there in terms of being a legitimate contending team.

Finney-Smith helps in many ways, being interchangeable at the position, which fits the style of play that head coach JJ Redick wants to play. He can play any forward position and even some small ball center. He shouldn’t play center regularly now, but it’s an option.

When the Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship, a big part of that was interchangeable, defensive-minded wings and guards like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Alec Caruso. Since the departure of those three players, the Lakers have not been able to repeat that success and production from the wing. Finney-Smith, along with Max Christie, could be a return to that kind of defensive pressure from the wing

Another key tenet of that Lakers team was having capable big men in the rotation. Now that team’s style of play and Redick’s preferred style of play are different. But the Lakers need reliable depth around Anthony Davis. Either next to him in the starting lineup as he moved LeBron James to a little forward, or he comes off the bench.

It’s there supposedly good news on the horizon regarding Jared Vanderbilt’s availabilityaccording to Jacob Rude of Silver Screen and Roll. He is apparently making progress in terms of rehabilitation and should be re-evaluated in about a week. Vanderbilt was hampered by injury all of last season and has yet to make his debut in 2024-25.

The seven-year veteran is also a switchable defender capable of thriving in small-ball lineups tailored for Redick’s system. The only problem is that Vanderbilt has been injury-prone throughout his tenure with the Lakers, with the exception of the end of the 2022-23 season and the Lakers’ subsequent playoff run.

Vanderbilt isn’t much of an offensive threat either. He doesn’t have a consistent shot. The Denver Nuggets discovered his weaknesses during the Western Conference Finals in 2023. And now he’s leaving with two major surgeries.

The Lakers still need to address their frontcourt by the NBA trade deadline. They are at the bottom of the league in total rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers just lost them on the glass on December 31st.

The Lakers’ frontcourt needs help before the NBA trade deadline

It’s easy to say that the Lakers just need to upgrade their frontcourt before the NBA trade deadline. You can’t just snap your fingers and make a trade appear out of thin air. While the Lakers have been linked to several center targets, a completed trade requires a lot of things to come together.

And it really depends on what direction the Lakers want to go. Do they want a starting-caliber center than to play alongside Anthony Davis? Or do they want a backup to come in and give him a break every game? During 2020, it was a combination of both. The Lakers had either JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard in the starting lineup, with the latter coming off the bench.

With Redick’s penchant for playing non-traditional lineups, perhaps starting center is a better option than giving up a backup who may or may not play. Also, a true starting center would take some of the rebounding responsibilities off of Anthony Davis and give him more freedom on the defensive end. And the Lakers have had their troubles this season.

The best possible candidate the Lakers could land is Charlotte Hornets big man Nick Richards. While Jonas Valanciunas is the main name linked to the Lakers via trade, it looks like that window is closing as the asking price of the Washington Wizards it can be too muchaccording to ESPN’s Michael Wright.

Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler is also likely off the scene. Chicago Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic isn’t in defensive shape to help take the pressure off Davis. Richards should be the main target.

Potential trade for Richards it will probably cost at least two second-round draft picks, according to Michael Scotto of Hoopshipe.com. The Lakers have that at their disposal. While second-round picks have risen in recent years, it’s worth parting with a couple to acquire a productive big man like Richards.

In 20 games this season, Richards averaged 9.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks. He shoots 56.4 percent from the field, 67.8 percent from the free throw line.

The Hornets seem to be more interested in acquiring than receiving salaries/players. If that’s what it takes to trade Richards before the NBA trade deadline, the Lakers need to pull the trigger. Richards doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact offensively, can hit the glass and can be an additional defensive anchor to help take pressure off Davis.