It was crystal clear during the 2025 NBA playoffs that the Lakers are nowhere near the level of West powerhouses such as the Thunder, Nuggets and Timberwolves, and possibly even the ascending Rockets.
If the Lakers were to trot out the same team in the 2025-26 season, there’s a good chance they won’t qualify for the playoffs, let alone make a run at the NBA title. Something’s got to change, and the Lakers need to retool the roster to complement their co-stars, LeBron James and Luka Doncic, neither of whom excels defensively.
Medium proposed a wild four-team Lakers trade that would see the team land two-way guard Derrick White, defensive-minded big Onyeka Okongwu and 3-and-D wing Deni Avdija. The trade would give Doncic and James three players who can all space the floor and defend multiple positions, marking a considerable upgrade from last year’s roster.
A Wild 4-Team Lakers Trade
The hypothetical trade would require the Lakers to part with Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and a first-round pick, among other assets.
Lakers would receive: Derrick White, Onyeka Okongwu and Deni Avdija
Celtics would receive: Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, 2031 first-round pick (via LAL)
Hawks would receive: Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, 2028 first-round swap
Trail Blazers would receive: Austin Reaves, Shake Milton, 2030 first-round swap
“The Lakers need to replace last season’s 3 offense-first starters with 3 new two-way players with positional size who can shoot the three-ball and defend their positions and fit better with superstars LeBron and Luka,” wrote LakerTom.
The writer added that the Lakers’ biggest priority in the 2025 offseason would be to gain a “positional size advantage” across the floor, a task that the trade would achieve.
“The Lakers’ new championship caliber starting lineup will boast a 6′ 7″ point guard in Doncic, a 6′ 4″ shooting guard in White, a 6′ 9″ small forward in Avdija, a 6′ 9″ power forward in James, and a 6′ 10″ center in Okongwu,” he addded.
How the Trade Helps Boston
The hypothetical trade is also designed to help the Celtics get below the dreaded second-apron in the luxury tax.
Before the 2025 playoffs, it would have been unfathomable for the Celtics even to consider trading White, a key piece to their 2024 NBA title run. However, Jayson Tatum’s debilitating Achilles injury — which will force him to miss most of the 2025-26 season — has reportedly changed the Celtics’ outlook.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, the Celtics would prefer not to move White or Jaylen Brown but are “listening to offers” on both stars. ESPN’s Shams Charania also reported that teams are “throwing crazy offers” at the Celtics to pry away both players.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks explained that the easiest way for the Celtics to shed salary would be to trade Kristaps Porzingis’ $30.7 million expiring contract rather than taking the extreme route of trading Brown or White.
“The easy path (and also the most unlikely) would be for Boston to dial up Brooklyn and offer Porzingis and this year’s No. 28 pick in a complete salary dump,” he wrote. “While that move drops Boston below the second apron, it does not help the product on the court now or into the future.”
The Celtics are projected to have a payroll of over $500 million in 2025-26, with more than half of that sum going towards the luxury tax.
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