3 Los Angeles Lakers backup plans after missing out on Pascal Siakam

1. Dejounte Murray and/or Clint Capela

Similar to the potential trade with the Chicago Bulls, the Lakers have a chance to add two quality players to their rotation by making one trade with the Atlanta Hawks. It’s no secret that the Hawks are actively shopping All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, but now reports suggest that Atlanta is willing to include center Clint Capela in any trade involving Murray, per John Hollinger of The Athletic (subscription required).

However, the biggest roadblock in trade discussions involving the Lakers and Hawks (which have occurred per ESPN’s Senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski), is Los Angeles’ desire to leave Austin Reaves out of any negotiations. 

Given the lack of draft capital the Lakers have and the pressure they face to capitalize on their current championship window with arguably the greatest player of all time in his 21st season and another All-NBA caliber player in Anthony Davis, the Lakers should consider moving on from Reaves if it means they can acquire both Murray and Capela.

Murray would provide the Lakers with another ball-handler and playmaker to relinquish some of those responsibilities from James in his age-39 campaign. Not to mention, Murray is shooting a respectable 38.6 percent from beyond the arc on six three-point attempts per game, a monumental improvement for a career 34.4 percent shooter from beyond the arc. 

The acquisition of Capela would allow Davis to revert to his preferred position of power forward when the two play alongside each other and also give the Lakers an additional rim protector when the latter is on the bench, a problem that has plagued this team throughout the season.

 If the Lakers can accept that they’d have to include Reaves, this could be the type of trade that revives their season.