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General Manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on prior to the game against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena on December 25, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
The Los Angeles Lakers are widely expected to pursue a 3-and-D wing before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline, but their moves could extend beyond just one addition.
According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, the Rob Pelinka-led front office may look to reshape the roster to address their recent troubles on the defensive end.
“I think maybe they do a couple moves and that reshapes the roster with two or three new players,” Buha told “Sirius XM NBA Radio” of the Lakers trade plans.
“Right now, adding [a 3-and-D] player would help for sure. I just think it’s deeper than one player,” added the Lakers beat writer.
Lakers Trade Buzz
Buha named usual suspects such as New Orleans Pelicans‘ Herb Jones, Miami Heat’s Andrew Wiggins, Sacramento Kings‘ Keon Ellis and Chicago Bulls‘ Ayo Dosunmu as Lakers trade targets, but was apprehensive about any of them moving the needle.
“I don’t know how much those guys are actually solving their direct problems to a degree that changes their status in the West,” Buha said of the Lakers landing one of the aforementioned 3-and-D wings.
The Lakers can use one tradeable first-round pick (2031 or 2032) and several expiring contracts — Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber — in potential trades.
Lakers: 2023 Flashbacks?
The Lakers completely reshaped their roster ahead of the 2023 deadline with a series of moves. First, they shipped Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks for Rui Hachimura, and followed it up with a multi-team trade that brought back D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Those moves paid off in a big way as the Lakers jumped from the 10th seed to the 7th seed in the last month of the regular season en route to the Western Conference Finals. While they got swept by Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets in the West Finals, the Lakers definitely benefited from those midseason trades.
One wonders if Pelinka and Co. have a similar plan cooking to reshape the roster.
By all accounts, the Lakers need more than just a few minor tweaks to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.
They rank below all four of those powerhouses in offensive rating (seventh), defensive rating (23rd) and net rating (15th). The Lakers are the only top-six seed in either conference to rank 23rd or under in defense with a point differential of under one point. In fact, they had a negative net rating before Sunday’s 125-101 win over the Sacramento Kings, a sign of a team that has been anything but dominant through the first 30 games.
The Lakers (20-10) will face the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons (24-8), in a blockbuster clash on Tuesday. They enter the game, which will be played on LeBron James‘ 41st birthday, as a -2.5 point underdog.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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