After being swept in the Western Conference Finals Monday night by the Nuggets, the Lakers will likely be in the market this off-season for an all-star caliber point guard to pair with Lebron James and Anthony Davis.
A new report this morning from the Athletic's Jovan Buha suggests that the Lakers have had "internal discussions" about what a trade involving Atlanta Hawks All-NBA guard Trae Young would look like.
The Lakers have had their eyes set on one of these possible two names - Kyrie or Trae, to join their backcourt for the 2023-24 season. While Kyrie is the more probable acquisition because he's an UFA, this hasn't stopped the Trae to L.A. rumors from circulating. Trae has been at several Lakers playoff games this off-season, as he has a summer house in L.A. Not to mention, he's also a Klutch Sports client, the agency that represents Lebron, and Anthony Davis.
While the 2022-23 season didn't go exactly the way Trae and the Hawks hoped for, there's renewed optimism headed into this summer. Ray Young, Trae's father, appeared recently on Dukes and Bell on 92.9 the game, and spoke about how much his son loves playing for this city - “It would have been cool to go to New York or Boston, but for him to be that type of kid that wants to come here and bring that first championship to Atlanta, that’s what it’s all about."
In addition, Ray also spoke about how much his son respects Quin Snyder, and feels that his game can be elevated under him - "Quin's great. I mean, his resume speaks for itself. The way he coaches, the way he resonates with his players on the court and off the court, I think it's just going to be tremendous for my son."
Steak Shapiro and Mark Zinno discussed this report on today's Steakhouse, and they focused on two things - would a move like bringing Trae assuage Lebron's worries on playing next year, and how would L.A. be able to come up with a trade package that could even entice the Hawks to think about making that move?