Lakers could acquire former NCAA scoring champion: ‘legitimate title contenders’

The Los Angeles Lakers have a stack of good trade assets, but it’s all about finding the right deal.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka will have to deeply understand his team’s needs as he decides whether to give all his best pieces to a star or add some quality role players instead.

If Pelinka decides to go the superstar route, he would likely be inclined to draft a point guard.

Los Angeles doesn’t need anyone other than Anthony Davis to play close to the basket on offense, especially with AD playing like an MVP. And while LeBron James often plays the lead guard role, he could use some relief in that regard as he turns 40 in December and will even surpass it.

On Friday, Fadeaway World’s Fran Leyva became the latest sportswriter to call for the Lakers to trade Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks.

“Young is the type of scorer who can take over the game, which is something they lack outside of LeBron and Davis,” Leyva said.

“Trades like (D’Angelo) Russell, (Jared) Vanderbilt, (Gabe) Vincent, (Max) Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick could be tempting for the Hawks. This gives them depth, flexibility and more options to build around their young core.”

“For the Lakers, acquiring Trae would mean solving their point guard problems and giving them another option in big moments. This is the step that can make them legitimate title contenders.”

A former NCAA scoring champion and 2018 assist champion, Young provides alpha energy, but he has always been too small and defensively difficult to be a top player among NBA contenders. In that sense, he might be the perfect guy to put next to AD and LeBron.

Will Pelinka agree to this?

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