The Los Angeles Lakers and other teams around the NBA will certainly be looking at the Boston Celtics as a potential trade partner. With reports indicating that the Celtics could move on from players like Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and others, a few of them would be a great fit for the Lakers, mainly Porzingis.
The Lakers need a center, and there’s no denying that anymore.
When considering potential options to address that area of need, Ryan Stano of Sports Illustrated suggested that they should trade for Porzingis to resolve their biggest roster issue.
“Without a true rim protector, the Lakers were not able to keep their defense in order. The Timberwolves gashed them up and down the court in the first round of the playoffs, and that’s why they are not still playing. Fixing the issue at the center position is going to be the top priority for the Lakers this offseason. The only way they can really do that is by executing a trade.
“One of the potential candidates they could get to fix that problem is Kristaps Porzingis. Porizingis is going to be on the market this offseason as the Celtics look to shed salary. Porzingis is going to be one of the players that the Celtics shop around. He would be a really nice fit in Los Angeles because of his combination of shooting and rim protection,” he wrote.
Celtics Are Reportedly Open for Business
While some have suggested that the Los Angeles Lakers won’t have a chance to trade for Porzingis or other players on the Boston Celtics, Shams Charanis of ESPN reported a few weeks ago that the Celtics are expected to explore options on the trade market.
This was prior to the Celtics being eliminated and before Jayson Tatum going down.
“I can tell you, the rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to come to the Celtics roster this offseason. Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason. This iteration is just not going to be sustainable for this team. And no one around the organization, from players to staffers, would be surprised if there are changes coming to this roster.
“When you think about the new collective bargaining agreement, there are restrictions that come with trades, there are restrictions that come with giving up draft picks, that’s all stuff that they’re dealing with right now. They have five players right now scheduled to make $28 million or more next season. That’s a league record. They would have a salary bill of $500 million. That’s league history. I think the Celtics knew when they traded for Jrue Holiday, they traded for Kristaps Porziņģis, they’d be staring this in the face this summer,” he said.
A New Big Three in Los Angeles
If the Los Angeles Lakers could pair Luka Doncic again with Porzingis, they could form one of the better trios in the NBA with LeBron James.
Porzingis is coming off a strange season, and his injury history is certainly a factor here, but he still averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and shot 41.2% from three-point range, all while being an above-average rim protector.
