This summer, the Lakers will need to make a lot of decisions, and it appears that talk of Trae Young joining the team will not stop.
Don’t believe that the Lakers were done pursuing third-star players. During a recent live broadcast, Jovan Buha from The Athletic talked about this and made it clear that the Lakers would be looking for a star in the summer and that Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks was their best chance.
They are looking for a third star this offseason, and we will see how it affects the DLO scenario. Almost any third-star transaction will most likely require you to give up Austin. Now, who is available? Trae Young is the one name I keep hearing. He has already attended Laker playoff games and is a Clutch Sports customer. That is certainly the most feasible option right now… Of course, whether or not they acquire him will depend on if they are prepared to trade all three selections for two picks. Is this Austin and Max? Is it only Austin? Of course, you must have an income that matches. Is that Rui or Vando? Do they send DLO there as well? There are many different ways that can play out, but my understanding is yes, they are going third-star hunting.
This should come as no surprise to those who have been following the Lakers’ progress this season. After the trade deadline passed without the Lakers making a deal, Rob Pelinka, the team’s vice president of basketball operations, spoke about’making a much bigger and consequential movement maybe in June and July.’
Using their available selection picks to trade for Trae would undoubtedly be a significant move, giving the Lakers another bona fide star. The Lakers have apparently been in negotiations with the Hawks about their other guard, Dejounte Murray, but those talks have never yielded results, so this is far from finalized. Still, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and Young is a Klutch client, the agency owned by LeBron James’ close buddy Rich Paul, as well as the firm with whom Bron and Anthony Davis are linked.
With the Hawks apparently out of contention and his agency’s already established relationship with the Lakers, the great guard may be looking for a change of scenery next season. The players the Lakers should package, as well as Atlanta’s desire to trade, will all be discussed this summer, but this is a situation to keep an eye on as the season ends.
