Ranking Lakers' Top Trade Targets After 2025 NBA Playoff Loss

The first NBA playoff trip taken by the Los Angeles Lakers' new superstar tandem of LeBron James and Luka Dončić was a dud.

It's not that their first-round loss to the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves was super surprising—Minnesota had a much better net rating this season—it's that the series loss exposed some of the bigger issues with the rest of the roster.

While James and Dončić largely did their part, the supporting cast consistently underwhelmed. And it's built to do the same going forward without some attention from the front office.

The Lakers, who somehow didn't relinquish all of their long-term assets in the Dončić deal, have the capacity to change that. Targeting the following three players this offseason could do the trick.

The Lakers' most glaring needs are on the interior (which we'll get to in a moment), but they also don't have enough two-way contributors on the perimeter.

Getting a deal done for Johnson—who used to slot alongside current Lakers swingman Dorian Finney-Smith when both were in Brooklyn—would be a huge step toward solving that imbalance.

It could be a costly one, too, since virtually every win-now shopper wants what Johnson provides: efficient outside shooting, defensive versatility and low-maintenance offense. If the Lakers want to give James another shot at contending, though, this is the time to empty the asset collection.

Now, L.A. could reasonably conclude that if it's going to part with its best remaining assets, then it needs to do so on a center. But positional need is the only reason Johnson doesn't slot in higher. He'd be a tremendous complement to the Lakers' best players and an easy fit for coach JJ Redick.

If—or, more likely, when—the Lakers address their frontcourt this offseason, they'll likely be looking for someone who provides more defensive deterrent than Collins. (Someone like the player you'll find in our No. 1 spot, for instance.)

Having said that, Collins could be all kinds of fun as a screen-setter for L.A.'s stars. The guy has anti-gravity bounce and a sure enough shot from distance to either pull opposing defenses out to the perimeter or punish teams who don't respect his range.

He could find his fit as a supplemental scorer without taking too many touches. Over 73 percent of his career twos and nearly 98 percent of his career threes have been assisted, per Basketball-Reference. He is comfortable—and more than capable—in a play-finishing role.

Finally, he shouldn't be difficult to pry out of Salt Lake City. Depending on how the Jazz handle Lauri Markkanen, they could wind up with one of the longest rebuilding runways in the league, which the 27-year-old Collins wouldn't fit.

L.A.'s need for a new center is both obvious and enormous. Once Anthony Davis skipped town, and the Mark Williams deal didn't happen, the Lakers were stuck relying on the unreliable Jaxson Hayes to man the middle.

That cannot be the case moving forward. And it shouldn't be since L.A. has enough trade chips to get a decent-or-better option at the 5 spot.

Nic Claxton would be a tremendous get. While he's not huge by NBA standards (6'11", 215 lbs), he has all the length and athleticism needed to thrive in a rim-running role. He can anchor a defense—key for a team with as many holes on the perimeter as the Purple and Gold—and consistently crush lobs on offense.

As an added bonus, he's even nimble enough to handle perimeter switches, meaning the Lakers could still play some of their small-ball style without having to be problematically undersized.