Official roster tranactions: to hillbilly mamba or not to hillbilly mamba?

[Anderson Hunt]

I'm convinced that there will be no impactful trade for a rotational defender.

The price will be too high and the Lakers essentially only have one pick to maneuver with.

For the 3&D type of player the Lakers want, expirings will not be enough.

Now, with that being said, if I'm right, and the water in the well is dried out, the Lakers need to use the defensive players they already have to improve their defense. That means finding roles for at least two of Vanderbilt, Manon, and Thiero.

The problem with that is there is a logjam for minutes on this team. There are a plethora of unimpactful defenders on this team who deserve minutes (ie. Doncic, James, Reaves, Hachimura, and LaRavia).

If you promote Vanderbilt and Manon, for example, two of the unimpactful defenders have to be benched, and that will never happen with Reddick.

He will favor the shooters, so you have to force his hand -- trade Hachimura and LaRavia (yes, good contract and all).

If you trade Hachimura and LaRavia and replace them with defensive-minded guys the identity of the team will change.

The problem with this idea is that in trading Hachimura you lose his shooting.

The solution is to ensure that the player you get back in return is an equally good shooter and improves the overall team speed.

If all else fails, if the Lakers are unsuccessful in acquiring a Herb Jones-caliber player, I propose they trade Hachimura, LaRavia, and the two expirings (Vincent and Kleber) for Zach LaVine.

Before you scoff at this and say, "But LaVine doesn't play defense", hear me out:

#1 - This trade is realistic for both parties. SAC wants LaVine off their books, and the Lakers want to get something of value for their $40 million expirings.

#2 - This trade improves their team speed and athleticism.

#3 - This trade opens up three roster spots to reconfigure the team with more defensive players.

#4 - This trade maintains the efficient shooting that is lost with Hachimura.

#5 - This trade improves the bench scoring (as LaVine becomes a super-sub).

#6 - This trade punts their current expirings into the following year with LaVine becoming a nearly 50 million expiring the summer of 2027.

#7 - This trade gives the team more roster flexibility giving the team options to resign Reaves, sign and trade Reaves (for Giannis), sign and trade Reaves and LaVine (for Giannis), or simply sign and trade Reaves to a team of his choice for assets if his asking price is too high. In this case LaVine could seamlessly step in to replace Reaves' productivity.

#8 - This trade improves the defense of speedy guards. Let me explain: LaVine is not a standout defender, but he's a better defender of guards than Hachimura.

#9 - This trade forces Reddick to play the defensive players on the roster. Remember: In my scenario, there is no external defensive help coming.

#10 - This trade gives Nick Smith Jr. a long-term contract and a consistent role in the rotation, essentially replacing the offense off the bench that LaRavia provides.

After this trade, depending on matchups, these are the defensive matchups on most nights:

PG - Vanderbilt - Manon - James
SG - Smart - Smith Jr. - Bufkin
C --- Ayton - Hayes - Markieff Morris
PF - Doncic - James - Thiero
SF - Reaves - LaVine - Knecht

Vanderbilt and Manon become dynamic POA defenders, and James and LaVine solve the bench issue.