NBA mock trade would add high-level scorer next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis
The Los Angeles Lakers have continued to find some success this season, winning six of their last ten and sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference, although the two-game gap in the standings between the Lakers and the fourth-place Denver Nuggets seems insurmountable.
Still, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers are an incredibly dangerous team, especially in the playoffs, and simply avoiding the Play-In Tournament is priority number one in Hollywood.
That doesn’t mean that the Lakers are complacent with their current roster. All season long, the team has been rumored to be looking for upgrades. Adding frontcourt help seems to be their main area of concern, but any upgrade will help them make some noise in the spring.
As the Lakers look to surge in the standings, the Portland Trail Blazers are trying to tank. Center Robert Williams III is a realistic trade target, but the Lakers could instead target a high-level combo guard.
Averaging 18.4 points and 4.7 assists this season, Anfernee Simons is a solid guard who can play in either backcourt spot. Over his last 15 games, he has shot a blistering 44.4% from 3-point range and would add a much-needed boost to the 13th-ranked offense.
The Lakers could offer the Trail Blazers Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura and a protected 2029 first-round pick for Simons.
With Dorian Finney-Smith in town and Jarred Vanderbilt healthy, Hachimura is more expendable than he was earlier this season. A starting five of Austin Reaves, Simons, James, Davis and Finney-Smith would open up some offensive potential for the Lakers and Simons’ positional versatility would continue to bring out the best in the Lakers’ stars.
