Lakers Trade Idea Brings in Star Forward to Pair with Luka Doncic
Oct 13, 2025
Are the Los Angeles Lakers happy with their current roster? They’ve pivoted their strategy to build around Luka Doncic, and they want to surround him with the best possible roster. Right now, they still have the roster they built to work with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That’s why some believe there could be some Lakers trades in the near future.
Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report recently came up with “1 Trade Every Team Would Make If the Deadline Was Before the 2025–26 NBA Season,” and his Lakers trade idea was a bold one.
“Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Maxi Kleber, Dalton Knecht, a 2026 first-round pick, a 2028 first-round pick swap, and a 2032 first-round pick for Lauri Markkanen.
The Los Angeles Lakers aren't often listed among the potential Markkanen suitors, but they probably should be.
Combining his finishing ability with Luka Dončić's playmaking would make him one of the most dangerous scorers in the league.
His skill set is also nowhere near as redundant alongside Luka and LeBron James as Austin Reaves' is. And, at 28 years old, with a contract that runs through 2028-29, Markkanen will almost certainly outlast LeBron in L.A. He's a natural fit as Luka's long-term No. 2.”
This Lakers–Lauri Markkanen trade is very interesting. The Lakers would be giving up a ton of assets to land Markkanen, who could be an ideal running mate next to Luka. However, this is too big a haul for Markkanen. Markkanen is set to make a bunch of money over the next few seasons, and you can’t argue that he is that much better than Austin Reaves.
Giving up Reaves and a ton of other assets to get Markkanen just doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Lakers.
