2 days ago
Insider claims Lakers have had trade talks about three new targets
While mid-July usually marks the start of the quiet part of the NBA's offseason in terms of player movement, teams aren't necessarily done making moves. The Los Angeles Lakers are one team that could still make a move or two if there is an opportunity available for them that they deem appropriate.
They can free up most of their bi-annual exception — $3.9 million, to be exact — to spend on at least one more free agent if they waive guard Shake Milton by July 20. There is also the remaining possibility of a trade, especially since they have the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Gabe Vincent to offer a team looking for some salary cap relief.
According to Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints, L.A. has talked to teams about wing Matisse Thybulle, guard Marcus Smart and backcourt player Ayo Dosunmu.
"Sources say Matisse Thybulle, Marcus Smart (though most teams are watching to see if he's going to be bought out), Ayo Dosunmu and others are names the Lakers have had preliminary conversations with teams about availability and price, though no offers have been made," Irwin wrote.
Right now, the NBA's main summer league is taking place in Las Vegas. There are plenty of team executives there to watch their young players in action, which presents Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka with an opportunity to talk to other executives about potential deals.
'Rob (Pelinka) likes Vegas because he can just pull so-and-so aside and have a conversation that would otherwise take a little planning,' an Eastern Conference executive said. 'Summer league has become a real opportunity for all of us in that way.'
Thybulle is a 3-and-D player who is 28 years of age and could fill a big need for Los Angeles. This past season, as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, he averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 20.8 minutes a game and shot 47.7% from the field and a career-high 43.8% from 3-point range. He made the All-Defensive second team for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
Smart isn't a 3-point sniper — he has a career mark of 32.4% from that distance and made 34.8% of his 3-point attempts this past season — but he is a defensive pest. He has made the All-Defensive first team three times and was named the Defensive Player of the Year three years ago. The 31-year-old 6-foot-3 guard can also serve as a facilitator and has averaged 4.6 assists a game over his 10 NBA seasons.
Dosunmu, 25, is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, and his 3-point shooting is a work in progress — he made 40.3% of his attempts from downtown during the 2023-24 season but fell to 32.8% this past season. But he's a solid defender and has shot 50.2% from the field in his four pro seasons.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Insider claims Lakers have had trade talks about three new targets
