21 April 2023 , 21:43
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The Los Angeles Lakers are doing their best to make an NBA Play-Off run this season, and are currently tied 1-1 with the Memphis Grizzlies in the first-round.
But while the focus is on the here and now, a team like the Lakers are always looking ahead to the future. While their past two seasons may not suggest it, the Lakers have one of the star rosters in the NBA with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the side.
They remain an extremely attractive team for all players in the NBA due to their legacy, and location and it's likely that no matter what happens this season, they will be in the market again come the summer. A busy trade window revamped their season and an NBA executive has claimed that Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks could be their next target.
Young is a two-time All-Star, and is without doubt one of the most valuable players on the Hawks. Young has been with the side since being drafted fifth overall back in 2018, and is under contract until the 2025/26 campaign. However with suggestions that Atlanta could be ready to move on, an off-season move has appeared to gain momentum.
But big contracts haven't phased the Lakers in the past, as they went all out to secure Davis in 2019 from New Orleans Pelicans. They may already have a strong option at point guard in D’Angelo Russell, but with the star set to become a free agent, they could swoop in for Young.
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That's according to an unnamed NBA executive, who is certain that Young could join the Lakers in the very near future. "They went out and got tradeable pieces," the executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney.
Young could join a star-studded offense at the Lakers (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)"If the Hawks don’t make a move in the summer, the Lakers would be a possibility next season. It would take a lot, and things would have to align just right for that.
"I also don’t buy that every guy who signs with Klutch is going to the Lakers, that is obviously not the case. But this is one they have been watching.
"The Hawks could look into the market on Young, but the thing is, it is not going to be as strong as they’d like. He has flaws, a lot of them, and they’ve sort of been exposed in the last couple of years. I am not sure how many real bidders Atlanta would get if they put him on the market, but it probably not as many as they think."