Sport
The Los Angeles laker’s extend their championship window top 6 trade assets for 2024-2025
As the Lakers look to extend their championship window, these are the top assets the team has to work
With the 2023-24 season now complete, the Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to the future and trying to figure how best to build a championship-level team going forward. Management will have a lot to consider, and their strategy could vary hugely depending on the path that LeBron James decides to take.
Of course, if LeBron opts to return to Los Angeles, the Lakers will be trying to re-sign many of their top guys and bring in more supporting players to attempt to make one last push at a title with their team still built around James and Anthony Davis. But if number 23 opts to leave, the front office will have some harder decisions to make regarding the direction of the franchise.
In any scenario, the Lakers’ path forward will be an especially difficult one considering their limited stash of assets. As for first-round draft picks, they currently possess only their own first-round picks between now and 2030, with the only picks they hold from any other team in that time frame being the Clippers’ 2024 and 2025 second-rounders.
Suffice to say, LA will not have much leverage in terms of draft capital when it comes to potential dealings. They will have to mostly rely on the value of the players currently on their roster. With that in mind, these are the six most valuable trade assets the Lakers have as of right now.
6. Jarred Vanderbilt
Coming over to Los Angeles at the 2023 trade deadline in the deal that brought them D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt has been an extremely solid piece while wearing Purple and Gold. His ability as a switchable defender that can get out on the perimeter or get stops in the paint has made him a crucial part of LA’s process.
The other end of the floor is one of the few things that holds Vanderbilt back. His offensive game is lacking, which can make him less useful at times. But overall, he is still one of the Lakers’ best players, and he would probably be looked upon as an even more valuable piece had he not missed so much time due to injury this past season.
It is the fact he is coming off an injury that bumps him down this list just a little. If the Lakers were to use him in trade negotiations, other teams may hesitate a tad since we have not yet seen him on the floor post-foot injury.
