Lakers Missing Piece: NBA Champion Identify Key Area of Improvement

To put it bluntly, the Los Angeles Lakers are middling team. They’re slightly above-average, so they’re at least on the right side of the spectrum. However, with 55 games remaining in the regular season, they’ve shown themselves to have glaring weaknesses.

Still, there’s never been a team without flaws. Even the Golden State Warriors, who won an NBA single-season record 73 games in 2015-16 before losing to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals. So, while many of the criticisms of the Lakers have merit, concerns could be a bit overblown.

With that being said, there are those who believe L.A. needs to make a major change rather than trying to patch up each of their holes individually. In the offseason, the thought was that replacing former head coach Darvin Ham was the right answer. Yet, JJ Redick —the Lakers’ new play-caller —has a worse record through 27 games as Ham did in 2023-24.

Lakers Champion Magic Johnson Names Team’s Biggest Need

In a recent appearance with SiriusXM NBA Radio’s Justin Termine and Eddie A. Johnson, Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson discussed what he believes the Lakers are missing this season.

The five-time NBA champion tells Termine and Johnson that L.A. needs “one more player.”

“… A guy who can get (the Lakers) 20 points on a consistent basis.”

Entering the 2024-25 season, fourth-year guard Austin Reaves was expected to become the team’s third option. 2015 No. 2 pick D’Angelo Russell was hoping to have a strong season. However, both have played below a star standard.

Reaves is averaging 17.3 points per game but shooting a career-low 43.7 percent from the field. He’s notched 20 or more points in just six of the 22 games he’s played and has yet to have a 30-plus point outing. Russell, who lost his starting spot early in the season, is averaging a career-low 12.5 points per game. His field goal percentage (.413) and three-point percentage (.333) are among the worst of his career.

This leads to the reality that the Lakers will have to make a blockbuster trade. To that point, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young and Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine are the stars who are typically linked to Los Angeles. Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, who was on the Lakers’ last title team, and Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton are two other scorers who the team reportedly has interest in.

Who Will They Trade For?

Russell, who is just 28, isn’t untouchable in trade talks by any means. However, his poor play makes him an unattractive option for multiple teams. In fact, it may have been the hangup in L.A.’s attempts to trade for Dejounte Murray last season.

Reaves, who is 26, is all but untouchable in trade talks. This is presumably because the Lakers brass views him as a star-caliber player. Yet, the Arkansas native will turn 30 years old in 29 months, which puts his potential in question.

Ultimately, if L.A. wanted to make a trade for a player of Young’s caliber, they might not get away with trying to hold onto Reaves. LaVine, Kuzma, and Sexton aren’t at Young’s level, but that makes them much more affordable options. A win-win scenario for the Lakers would be for them to acquire a player from that trio while keeping Reaves (and Rui Hachimura) while moving Russell.

That makes Kuzma and Sexton the most feasible of their potential trade acquisitions.