Raptors engaged with Lakers in trade talks: report
Another day, another trade rumour for the Toronto Raptors.
This time, the Raptors find themselves linked with yet another marquee franchise, with The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reporting that the Los Angeles Lakers have been in “preliminary” discussions with Toronto ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
Los Angeles was a potential suitor for former Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who eventually found himself traded to Dallas yesterday less than 48 hours after news of his trade request first broke on Friday.
And with the Lakers looking to remain competitive in the NBA playoff hunt despite a tough start to the season, Toronto has emerged as a “plan B” for Los Angeles.
Weirdly, the Lakers and the Raptors sit in almost the exact same spot in their respective conferences: 25-29 and two games back of a play-in spot, while the Raptors are 25-30 and just a half-game back of a play-in spot. But the Lakers possess something no other team has: a 38-year-old LeBron James, whom they likely feel a duty to at least try to build a competitive roster around in the remaining seasons of his career.
“The Lakers will remain active on the trade market, exploring deals both small and large. In the wake of the Irving-to-Dallas news, the two teams that have repeatedly popped up as Plan B options for the Lakers are the Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors, according to league sources,” Buha wrote in an article today for The Athletic. “Both teams have been linked to the Lakers in recent weeks and have starter-level players who have been rumored to be available. However, talks remain preliminary and nothing is imminent.”
Buha did not follow up on any particular specifics involving which players might be involved.
Toronto has seen trade-heavy rumours centred around guards Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. as well as forward O.G. Anunoby emerge over recent weeks.
It’s unlikely Los Angeles would have the assets needed to land Toronto’s top scorer in Pascal Siakam, with the team possessing the ability to not trade any first-round picks until 2027 due to NBA rules around trading consecutive first-round picks.
On the flip side, there’s one big-name player that might be moved for contract purposes from a Los Angeles perspective.
Russell Westbrook — who is in the final year of a five-year, $206 million deal originally signed in Oklahoma City that has seen him play for four different franchises over the duration of the deal — has been oft-mentioned as a possible trade candidate, including most recently in a failed pitch for the Lakers to land Irving.
The NBA trade deadline is set for Thursday at 3 pm ET.
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