3 former players of the team should trade in place of Brandon Ingram

The Los Angeles Lakers shouldn’t trade for Brandon Ingram.

There’s certainly appeal in targeting a big name like Ingram. He can score a ton, he’s made an all-star team, and his name is constantly being rumored. The Lakers certainly don’t have an answer at small forward, regardless of whether Rui Hachimura can look good for a game or two. Ingram appears to fill that spot, and this front office has loved bringing back former Lakers.

But the Lakers have their stars figured out; Adding another would be exciting, but it’s not what this team needs most. What they found difficult this season was building a rotation around their two stars. They had the same problem last year, but LeBron James and Anthony Davis were so good that they still carried this squad to the playoffs. This time, LeBron has taken a step back and Davis has been too inconsistent, and the entire team is struggling.

What the Lakers need to do is find the right upgrades to the rest of the rotation to maximize their stars. The template could be the Dallas Mavericks, who added strong rotation players in Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington at the trade deadline last season and used those changes all the way to the NBA Finals.

If the Lakers want to bring back a former player, Brandon Ingram is not the answer. Instead, let’s look at three players who might make more sense.

No. 1: The Lakers should trade for Dennis Schroder

The point guard position for the Lakers has been a disaster this season. D’Angelo Russell has started 10 games at the position but has been inconsistent as always; an underrated passer, an overrated scorer, and an extremely unpredictable shooter who does nothing on defense. There are several pieces of evidence that suggest he is not the answer.

Gabe Vincent was signed in the summer of 2023 to share the load, but last season was a lost year due to injury and he has not been effective this season. 208 players have logged at least 400 minutes this season, and so has Vincent’s strike rate of 43.2 percent last dead208. Austin Reaves has been spot-on at times, but he’s much better when he can play off another ball-handler.

The Lakers could go the route of simply letting LeBron James run the offense, but that doesn’t solve the problem of who will defend opposing guards, and it asks a lot of a player who’s about to turn 40 and his burden along the way obviously needs to decrease on the pitch. This points to a huge need for an upgrade at point guard.

Enter Dennis Schroder, who could return to the Lakers for the third time in his career. The 31-year-old is having an extremely strong season for the Brooklyn Nets, which turned out to be bolder than expected, averaging 18.6 points and 6.5 assists per game. He is shooting 38.5 percent from deep, his best season since playing with Chris Paul with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019-20.

The Brooklyn Nets are actively shopping their veterans to develop into an all-out tank, and Schroder has been specifically mentioned as a trade possibility. Schroder is only making $13 million this season on an expiring contract, so it’s entirely feasible for the Lakers to make up his salary if they contribute the right draft assets. They should reach out to the Nets and see if a deal can be completed.

No. 2: The Lakers should trade for Larry Nance Jr.

Another area where the Lakers are struggling is at the backup center position, where injuries and ineffectiveness continue to plague the ragtag group of Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood and Christian Koloko. In their recent overtime thriller against the Atlanta Hawks, two-way center Armel Traore had to play four minutes to outplay Anthony Davis, and the Lakers lost those four minutes by seven points – and in the end they lost by just two points against Trae Young 3:3. Pointer.

Hayes or Wood would make a better impact than Traore, but the Lakers need an upgrade overall. Ideally, this player could stretch the floor enough for Davis to play a few minutes at power forward; Such a “Twin Towers” ​​look would be defensively threatening and would keep Davis happy during the regular season.

The Lakers don’t have to look far from the painful loss in Atlanta to find the answer: He was on the opposing bench. Larry Nance Jr. began his career with the Lakers before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and making his final appearance in the NBA Finals alongside LeBron James. Since then, Nance has been on the rise in the league, playing in Portland, New Orleans and, this season, Atlanta.

Nance is a solid defender, both as a secondary rim protector and as a switch defender. On offense, he is a reliable 3-point shooter, allowing him to utilize the space for various lineups at both the 4 and 5. He could thrive for the Lakers alongside LeBron James as the backup 5 and possibly even get some minutes alongside Davis.

With an expiring $11.2 million contract and out of Atlanta’s rotation, he appears to be an obvious trade candidate, even if the Hawks remain cautious about his availability. The Lakers can explore what it looks like to bring back this versatile big man.

No. 3: The Lakers should trade for Svi Mykhailuk

Admittedly, that’s a deep undertow. The casual basketball fan may not even know who Svi Mykhailiuk is, and even die-hard fans may not know that he began his career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

27-year-old Ukrainian winger Mykhailiuk was drafted by the Lakers with the 47th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft and played 39 games for the team as a rookie before the Lakers sent him and a draft pick to the Detroit Pistons for Reggie Bullock. Mykhailiuk has since moved around the league, playing for Detroit, Oklahoma City, Toronto, New York and Charlotte and winning a championship with the Boston Celtics last season. That year, he signed with the Utah Jazz and appeared in six games.

The elite skill that Mykhailiuk brings to the table is shot volume; He’s not necessarily an elite shooter in terms of accuracy, but he can easily land shots at high volume. When he hits those shots, it can bring a game to a halt. If he’s not, he’s at least providing distance for his teammates.

There isn’t much else the seven-year veteran brings to the table, but rookie Dalton Knecht has shown how much shooting can help this Lakers team, and they have few options other than Knecht. Rui Hachimura is currently an accurate shooter, but otherwise every rotation player is hitting at 35.9 percent or worse with at least 50 attempts. Another sniper would do wonders.

The Utah Jazz aren’t trying to win games, and Mykhailiuk is probably up for a song. Releasing one of their heavyweight contracts like Christian Wood for a second to bring Mykhailiuk back would fill a need and not get in the way of other trades.

Be it Mykhailiuk, Nance or Schroder, a number of former Lakers players would help them this season. Will the Lakers bring one of them back in a trade?