The Los Angeles Lakers' biggest goal this offseason is landing a starting-caliber big man. The absence of one was sorely felt in their first-round exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus has put out an interesting mock trade for them. Pincus laid out how they can acquire Daniel Gafford from the Dallas Mavericks via the Orlando Magic.
Transaction No. 1
The Orlando Magic receive Daniel Gafford
The Dallas Mavericks receive Cole Anthony, No. 25 overall pick in the 2025 draft (via Denver Nuggets)
Transaction No. 2
The Magic receive Dalton Knecht, $110,000 (via Brooklyn Nets), $14.4 million trade exception (Gafford), $1.5 million trade exception (Jett Howard)
The Nets receive Maxi Kleber, Jett Howard, 2027 Boston Celtics second-rounder (via Orlando)
The Los Angeles Lakers receive Gafford
Pincus added that the Magic would then sign Gary Trent Jr. via the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and Tyus Jones via the bi-annual exception. They would follow that up by declining the team option for Mo Wagner and Gary Harris.
Transaction 1 would take place before the 2025 NBA Draft, while the rest would take place on July 6. As for why all these teams would want to make these moves, it does solve a major problem for all of them.
Firstly, the Lakers need a big, as stated earlier, and they already showed before this year's deadline that they won't have a problem parting with Dalton Knecht for one. Knecht was part of the package for Mark Williams, but the Lakers then rescinded the trade due to medical concerns regarding the Charlotte Hornets' big man.
Gafford averaged 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game for the Mavericks in 2024-25. He'd be a solid acquisition for the Lakers and a notable upgrade over Jaxson Hayes. Gafford also played alongside Luka Doncic on the Mavericks, and the Slovenian did manage to get the best out of him.
As for the Magic, these moves help address their biggest concern, outside shooting. They shot just 26.3% from beyond the arc against the Boston Celtics in the first round and need some snipers.
Trent and Jones shot over 40% from three this season, while Knecht was at 37.6% as a rookie. You'd expect him to get even better over time.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are in need of a ball-handler after Kyrie Irving went down with an ACL tear. This deal would get them one in Cole Anthony, who averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Magic in 2024-25.
Those aren't great numbers, but Anthony didn't have the ball in his hands a lot with the Magic, thanks to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. That wouldn't be the case with the Mavericks.
Lastly, for the Brooklyn Nets, these moves see them get a solid young player in Jett Howard and a second-round pick for taking on Maxi Kleber's salary. Provided the Nets decide against trying to compete in 2025-26, this would be a sensible trade for them to make.
So, these moves do prove to be beneficial, in one way or the other, for all these teams. Time will tell if they end up going down this route.
