It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers‘ biggest problem is their lack of big, evidently exposed in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have seized a 3-1 series lead after a 116-113 win in Game 4 on Sunday.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey proposed an offseason trade that will solve the Lakers’ woes and make them more competitive for next season.
Bailey’s trade proposal:
Los Angeles Lakers receive: Nicolas Claxton
Brooklyn Nets receive: Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, a 2028 first-round pick swap and a 2030 first-round pick swap
“Nic Claxton offers rim protection and the kind of lob threat that Luka Dončić has gotten so much over the years, without totally sacrificing what makes the small-ball lineups interesting. For a center, he’s solid at moving his feet and covering perimeter players,” Bailey wrote.
Kleber was only a throw-in in the Dončić-Anthony Davis trade. If the Lakers send Hachimura out in this deal, they must re-sign Dorian Finney-Smith first to an extension. Otherwise, trading away Hachimura with Finney-Smith walking this offseason will only create another problem for the Lakers.
“For the Brooklyn Nets, this gives a rebuilding team two expiring contracts that can be moved next season, but more importantly, it presents two shots at moving up in future drafts,” Bailey wrote.
It’s hard to imagine the Nets will not ask for the Lakers’ 2031 first-round pick, which they readily offered in the rescinded Mark Williams trade.
Nic Claxton Plays Better With Stars
Claxton’s numbers may have dipped this season — 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 blocks — as the Nets tanked for the draft lottery, but he has the potential to become one of the elite centers in the league in a better environment.
The 6-foot-11 rim-running center was at his best when he played alongside two future NBA Hall of Famers Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
In their final season together in 2022-23 in Brooklyn, Claxton averaged 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and a career-high 2.5 blocks per game. He also shot a career-best 70.5% from the field, feasting on lobs from the Nets’ former stars.
Playing with Dončić, Austin Reaves and presumably LeBron James, who has a player option for next season, will undoubtedly revitalize Claxton, who will feast inside with lobs coming from everywhere.
Lack of Center Forced JJ Redick to Unprecedented Decision
After the Lakers lost Game 3, coach JJ Redick made the blunt admission about their biggest weakness.
“The fact is we don’t have quote-unquote rim protection,” Redick told reporters after the loss. “You give up blow-bys, we’re gonna give up something. We’re gonna give up a three [pointer] or shot at the rim.”
Jaxson Hayes is the Lakers’ lone center on the roster. But he’s only playing 7.5 minutes in the series. In the must-win Game 4, Hayes only saw four minutes as Redick went small-ball for the entire second half.
Redick’s unprecedented decision to play LeBron James, Dončić, Austin Reaves, Hachimura and Finney-Smith with no relief in the second half came back to haunt them.
Los Angeles lost steam after entering the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead. Minnesota outscored them 32-19 in the fourth quarter, led by Anthony Edwards‘ 16 of his game-high 43 points.
“I felt like they were gassed going down the stretch,” Edwards told reporters. “So just trying to keep my foot on the pedal and keep going.”
James did not score while Dončić went 1-for-6 and Reaves 2-for-7 in the final 12 minutes.
