Grade the Trade: 3-team concept would pit Lakers, Nuggets as mortal enemies

The Los Angeles Lakers are 8-4, but there's a sense of urgency in the fandom (if not in the front office) to take the next step with a meaningful trade. Rob Pelinka sat on his hands all summer, refusing to add talent at the expense of long-term flexibility. In short, he was being cheap.

The Denver Nuggets, meanwhile, have ousted Los Angeles in back-to-back postseasons, including a championship run in 2023. But, rather than build on that success with a committed free agency approach, Calvin Booth let Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk in back-to-back summers without fielding viable replacements. As a result, the Nuggets are a patchwork roster being held together by Nikola Jokic's MVP heroics.

Both teams could use a trade (or multiple trades) to boost their competitive standing in the Western Conference. In a strange way, they're both chasing each other, or at least operating with the last two postseasons in mind. So, while the odds of Los Angeles and Denver striking up a trade together are slim, Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley has a bold pitch in mind.

"Fleshing out a two-team trade for [Austin] Reaves that works for Denver and L.A. isn't easy, but bringing in a third team might do the trick," he writes. "Perhaps a team like the Hawks could grease the gears for an exchange that puts Trae Young in L.A., Reaves in Denver and draft assets attached to Michael Porter Jr. in Atlanta."

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Bold 3-team trade would put Trae Young on Lakers, Austin Reaves on Nuggets, Michael Porter Jr. on Hawks

Taking it a step further, here's an approximation of what Buckley's proposal might actually look like once plugged into the trade machine.

Obviously, there would be several draft picks involved — most of them funneled to the Atlanta Hawks, who jump in as the third team to facilitate Austin Reaves' arrival in Denver (and kickstart their own rebuild). It would take at least both of LA's two tradable first-round picks to get Trae Young in a Lakers uniform. The Nuggets might need to cough up a pick to get off of Michael Porter Jr.'s contract, too, especially with a multiple rotation pieces coming back.

The Lakers are the major standouts here, although the logistics of trading four players for two might get complicated (expect more pieces to this hypothetical trade, or other moves to balance out the roster). Trae Young is the third star Lakers fans yearn for, and he's a tremendous on-paper fit. Young's limited off-ball utility might spook some, but so much of that is situational. Young processes the game as quickly as anyone in the NBA. Put him next to LeBron James, and he'll find ways to bomb catch-and-shoot 3s and attack rotating defenses off the catch. Young's rim pressure and playmaking verve would add a fresh and much-needed dynamic to the LA offense.

Peyton Watson is more than a throw-in, too. He's salary filler, sure, but Watson is a tremendously versatile defender on the wing. He's an essential part of the Nuggets second unit and he would fill a void Jarred Vanderbilt hasn't quite been able to in Los Angeles.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, buck the Russell Westbrook experiment in favor of Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell. Reaves and his favorable contract are the real source of value, but Russell ain't half bad on an expiring $18.7 million contract. He has his justified detractors, but Russell can still score in a variety of ways and supply the Nuggets second unit with a steady playmaking valve. Christian Wood is the backup center Denver doesn't really have at the moment.

As for Atlanta, trading Young without your own first-round pick this season is... a choice. The right choice? Maybe not, but getting a handful of first-round picks in addition to Michael Porter Jr. is at least enough to start the conversation. Porter may be good enough to keep Atlanta out of the absolute basement, at least until the Hawks can properly rebuild. He's the sort of player who needs a high-voltage playmaker next to him — I'd be more interested in Porter as a complement to Young, not his replacement — but in the end, there is at least some logic on Atlanta's end. This current era of Hawks basketball just isn't amounting to anything of substance. A teardown is inevitable.

Does this trade make sense for all the parties involved? Yes, on some level. Each fanbase will have its qualms, but one can at least mount a sturdy argument for this framework. It also spices up the Nuggets-Lakers rivalry, which is good for the product.

Lakers grade: A
Nuggets grade: B+
Hawks grade: C