Grading this blockbuster Lakers-Clippers trade that pairs LeBron with Paul George

It wouldn’t be a Bleacher Report “Blockbuster NBA Trades for Teams Ready to Risk It All” article without the Los Angeles Lakers, and boy is this one a doozy. The proposed trade has a few moving parts and would require Paul George first to force his way to the Lakers, have the two sides agree to a deal, and then have him exercise his player option for $48.8 million before being dealt. The trade would send George and P.J. Tucker to the Lakers for Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell (who would also have to exercise a player option), Jarred Vanderbilt, and either the Lakers 2024 or 2025 first-round pick. 

Where the Lakers-Clippers blockbuster could fall apart

The sheer magnitude of hurdles and pitfalls makes the deal highly unlikely to materialize. If I were handing out a grade for the likelihood of this deal happening, I’d give it a D+. It isn’t impossible, but relying on a player forcing their way to Western Conference’s seventh seed and D’Angelo Russell opting into the final year of his deal means this deal relies too heavily on individual players making certain decisions. 

However, that doesn’t mean the proposed trade is completely out of left field. If George makes it clear he won’t extend with the Clippers and will hit free agency unless he is traded to the Lakers, then it would behoove the Clippers to get as much back for him as possible. Trading one of your best players to your intra-city rival might sting, but losing Paul George with nothing to show for it would be cataclysmic. This is a piece-by-piece grade of a Paul George to the Lakers blockbuster. 

Grading the Los Angeles Clippers 

If the Clippers were forced to trade Paul George to the Los Angeles Lakers, they’d be pretty happy with this deal. Austin Reaves is on an exceptionally team-friendly deal, D’Angelo Russell is a solid starting caliber point guard, Rui Hachimura is a league-average power forward, and Jarred Vanderbilt remains an excellent defensive player. 

While Reaves didn’t take the leap to become a borderline All-Star like Lakers fans were hoping for, he’s still a solid combo guard capable of starting or being an elite sixth man. Crucially, he’s only owed $12.9 million next season, $13.9 million in 2025-26, and has a $14.8 million player option for 2026-27. For functionally the mid-level exception, the Clippers would be landing a player who would easily command $20 million per season on the open market. 

Russell’s value to the Clippers would be as a single-season insurance policy should James Harden depart in free agency or act as a juicy salary in a larger trade. Russell isn’t a perfect player, but he’s a legitimate offensive weapon on an expiring deal. If you don’t have a championship-caliber roster, having flexibility is the next best thing. 

Hachimura and Vanderbilt would solidify the Clippers’ power forward rotation for the next couple of seasons. While Hachimura’s $17 million salary is a bit rich for his contributions, Vanderbilt’s only comes in at $10.7 million. Having depth and flexibility at the power forward spot for under $30 million a season is about as good as you can do if you don’t have players on rookie deals. 

A sneaky part of the deal that the Clippers would love is being able to get off the final year of P.J. Tucker’s deal. Tucker has an $11.5 million player option for next season that he will almost certainly exercise. After playing only 420 minutes last season, it’s highly unlikely Tucker would get anything more than the minimum next season, and there is no certainty he’d even receive offers. 

The one part of the deal the Clippers would probably regret is only getting the Lakers 2024 or 2025 first-round pick. The final part of the Lakers’ Anthony Davis trade has been a thorn in their side. The Pelicans can opt to take the 17th overall pick this season or the Lakers’ 2025 first-round pick. Chances are the Pelicans kick the can one final time and hope age and injury ruin the Lakers’ season. 

Due to the Stepien rule, which requires teams to have one first-round pick in every other draft, Bleacher Report proposing the Lakers trade their 2024 or 2025 first-round pick might not be allowed by the league. If the Pelicans take the Lakers’ 2024 first, they won’t be able to trade their 2025 first, and because the Lakers owe a pick to the Utah Jazz in 2027, they won’t be able to trade their 2026 first-round pick. If my understanding of the rule is accurate, then the Clippers would actually be able to get a Lakers 2029 through 2031 first-round pick, which would be a whole lot sweeter. 

Considering the proposed situation, the Clippers get an A- for this deal. It’s making the best of a bad situation, and the draft pick compensation would be better than in the trade. The Lakers and Clippers could add another team to the deal to get the Lakers another first in 2024, 2025, or 2026 to allow them to move one of those picks, but that’s out of the purview of the grade. 

Grading Los Angeles Lakers

While Lakers fans will surely love the idea of Paul George teaming up with Anthony Davis and LeBron James, this trade grader isn’t so enamored. However, let’s start with why this deal could be a great idea. The Lakers have desperately needed some punch from the wing ever since they traded Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Russell Westbrook. While neither Kuzma nor Caldwell-Pope is anywhere near the level of George, their ability to space the floor, hit contested shots, and do some self-creation has been sorely missed. George is magnitudes better than both and would give the Lakers the most versatile and skilled front line in the NBA. Would it be enough to win a title? Potentially, but the pitfalls could be severe. 

Unfortunately, the Lakers turning their backcourt and power forward rotation into Paul George would leave them with one of the worst backcourt rotations in the NBA, and their depth and flexibility would be seriously compromised. Heading into free agency, the only guards on the Lakers’ roster would be Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino. Needless to say, they’d have to hit the minimum market hard to fill that void. While James can run point in a pinch, you still need 96 minutes of guard play for 82 games to make the playoffs. 

The loss of depth could also loom large for the Lakers. Yes, Davis and James played 76 and 71 games last season, but that was the first time they eclipsed 60 games played since 2019-20. Throw in the fact that George hadn’t eclipsed 60 games played since 2018-19 before playing 74 games this past season, and the Lakers could easily be staring at a situation where they’re an incredibly shallow team missing two of their three stars for a 20-game stretch. 

The Lakers would also be committing $143.4 million to just three players, and they’d still have to pay P.J. Tucker his $11.5 million salary. As the NBA’s marquee franchise, luxury tax payments aren’t an issue, but the NBA’s new CBA is incredibly restrictive of the league’s highest spenders. The Phoenix Suns showed how difficult it is to make a deep run built around three highly-paid players, and the Lakers would functionally be using the exact same playbook. 

The other issue for the Lakers would be the long-term ramifications. LeBron is almost 40, Davis is into his 30s, and Paul George just turned 34 and will be looking for a long-term extension. If the Lakers don’t win a championship with this team in year one, they might be stuck with an expensive and aging roster for the next few seasons. 

The Lakers should go all-in, but concentrating all of their assets into one player would be unwise. It’d behoove them to maintain as much depth as possible in any trade, and turning the most productive parts of your roster into Paul George would expose them to incredible risk, without nearly as much upside as their collective star power would have you think. I’m giving the Lakers a C- for the trade. 

Overall, Bleacher Report’s blockbuster Paul George trade gets a C+. It’s docked because of how unlikely it is to happen and just how much of a risk it would be for the Lakers in the short and long term. The Clippers’ side of the trade makes sense, but everything else about it is a total and complete mess.