The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be active in the trade market this summer, specifically for a center. They are looking for a starting center who can protect the rim and catch lobs.
While Jaxson Hayes played the best basketball of his career for the Lakers this season, that still wasn’t enough in the playoffs. He is a limited player who can only do so much.
In order to get a center, the Lakers have quite a few expiring contracts that they can send away in order to acquire that center.
One player that the Lakers could trade away is Rui Hachimura. Despite the fact that he was an excellent shooter for them, he could be on his way out of LA.
According to Bleacher Report, the Lakers could put Hachimura in a package to trade for Nets center Nic Claxton. This is what the full proposed trade looks like:
Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, a 2028 first-round pick swap and a 2031 first-round pick for Nicolas Claxton
Claxton is one of the best assets that the Nets have on their team. He is a young center who has developed into one of the best rim protectors in the entire league.
He is also good enough to create his own offense, and he’s an elite lob-catcher. The Lakers need someone exactly like Claxton, especially with their timeline with LeBron James.
Putting two first-round picks into this trade would be a little hefty, even if one of the picks is a swap. That’s a lot to give up for a center who had a down year for Brooklyn this season.
The Lakers could have to overpay for Claxton because of what Brooklyn has in mind for their own organization. They could want to keep Claxton so they can trade him for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This season for the Nets, Claxton averaged 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He also shot 56.3 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from three.
