The Los Angeles Lakers may have a problem on their hands. LeBron James seems to be regressing right in front of our eyes. He scored just 10 points in the Lakers’ loss Monday night against the Phoenix Suns.
Despite Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves being ready to carry on the torch, they could be in the market to make a massive trade. If they want to improve their outside shooting and interior defense, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report drew up a massive three-team trade that benefits everybody.
“At 14-4 overall, it's been a successful start to the season even with LeBron James only recently making his 2025-26 debut," Swartz said Monday. "The Lakers could still use a defensive-minded, starting-caliber center to pair with Deandre Ayton on the depth chart, and L.A. Ranks just 26th overall in made threes per game (11.4) and is 21st in accuracy (34.9 percent). Daniel Gafford and Klay Thompson could assist in these areas.
“Gafford is a former lob target of Luka Dončić who's averaging 10.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.7 blocks and has shot 61.3 percent overall in his 12 starts for Dallas this year. Thompson was pursued heavily by LeBron James and the Lakers in the summer of 2024 before the veteran wing eventually agreed to join Dončić in Dallas.”
In this hypothetical trade, the Lakers would get Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford. The Dallas Mavericks would get LaMelo Ball, and the Charlotte Hornets would receive Max Christie, Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent, and a 2029 Lakers first-round pick.
For the Lakers, they get a guy in Klay who demands respect on the offensive end and a big man familiar with Luka’s game. Charlotte recovers valuable assets in return for LaMelo, who may now be expendable now that Kon Knueppel has exceeded expectations. Finally, the Mavericks get a true point guard in Ball, who can run the show while Kyrie Irving recovers from his injury.
All teams benefit from this massive trade and improve in areas that need to be addressed.
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