Los Angeles Lakers’ Current Best Offer For Hawks’ Trae Young

The NBA offseason has not gone as planned for the Los Angeles Lakers thus far.

Initially there was optimism that, with LeBron James agreeing to take less money on his next deal, the front office would be able to utilize those funds effectively and bring in a high-caliber, big-name star.

Unfortunately, that didn’t end up happening.

Klay Thompson went to the Dallas Mavericks. Jonas Valanciunas joined the Washington Wizards. Donovan Mitchell returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And Dejounte Murray was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.

So where does that leave L.A.?

Well, after losing out on Valanciunas the front office shifted its focus onto a different center. And after watching Thompson become a Mav, a new superstar became a target for Rob Pelinka and Co.

In addition, there was a renewed focus on re-signing two key role players and four ‘expendable’ role players were put on the trade block.

On Tuesday, after all their other strikeouts, the Lakers once again became linked to Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks. There has been pessimism in recent days regarding anything involving the 25-year-old getting done because he isn’t a Klutch client anymore, but realistically that doesn’t matter.

There were only three teams linked to a possible trade for Young in recent months – and one of them just picked Chris Paul over him.

“Chris Paul to the Spurs likely rules out San Antonio as a Trae Young destination for now,” Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer confirmed this week.

That leaves the Lakers in prime position to capitalize. Although they could probably get DeMar DeRozan for cheaper, Young fits the team’s needs better.

Los Angeles’ best possible offer for Young is a matter of public record, too.

As far as draft capital, the front office would need to give Atlanta all their looming first-round draft picks from now through 2029. Plus, they throw in a player like Jalen Hood-Schifino who they want to dump anyway. And then of course there would be some combination of throw-in salaries to make the numbers work involving the four guys they want to trade anyway.

The Hawks would be able to proceed with a rebuild, and the Lakers would nab a 25-year-old who theoretically play alongside Davis for many more years to come. Even in the post-James Era.

Unfortunately, Los Angeles has whiffed on every other opportunity to improve the roster so far this year.

Will this be any different? Time will tell.

Anthony Amador

A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school Games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.