The latest nudge in the Lakers’ long courtship of Herb Jones came this week from Maxwell Ogden of LakeShowLife, whose read is that New Orleans committing money to Saddiq Bey makes an eventual Jones trade more plausible. Los Angeles has chased the Pelicans’ All-Defensive wing for more than a year, and the roster it built this summer still has the exact hole he’d fill. But nothing in the news moves this from wish to deal.
The Case For
The need is real and the Lakers themselves have all but admitted it. After acquiring Walker Kessler as their rim protector and re-signing Austin Reaves, the front office’s own summer left one gap conspicuously open: a point-of-attack wing defender who can guard the West’s best 6-foot-6-to-6-foot-9 scorers across a series. Neither Quentin Grimes nor Collin Sexton profiles as that stopper.
Jones is precisely that player. He developed from a second-rounder into a first-team All-Defense selection in 2023-24, and ranks among the top players in the league in defense against isolations. On a team built around Luka Dončić and Reaves — two creators who need cover on the other end — Jones would let both focus their energy on offense.
The contract is the sweetener. Jones is on a bargain deal for this season and next, then earns around $67 million from 2027-28 through 2029-30. He makes roughly $14.9 million next season, and one can argue he is a bargain on that number. A two-way wing at that price is an asset, not a burden.
The Case Against
Start with the plainest problem: he isn’t available. Jones agreed to a three-year, $68 million extension in July 2025 that includes a player option, and that contract eliminates any urgency for New Orleans to trade him. The Pelicans have not shown much interest in moving him.
The mechanics don’t help either. As NBA insider Michael Scotto has noted, Jones cannot be traded until January 14 because of when his extension was signed. There is no summer deal to make; the earliest window is midseason.
Then there’s the price. Reports have long stated it would take two first-round picks to get New Orleans to consider moving Jones. The Lakers gutted their pick cupboard to land Kessler, and the most-floated package — Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht plus capital — has repeatedly been flagged as light. A package centered on Vanderbilt and Knecht may fall short of the Pelicans’ steep asking price.
Fit carries a caveat too. Jones is coming off a down year: he averaged 8.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 38.3% shooting. His steals remain the draw, but a wing who can’t reliably knock down open looks is a spacing problem next to Dončić.
The Verdict
The Lakers are right to keep the line open — Jones is the cleanest solution to their one glaring weakness, and his contract makes him worth real assets. But this is not a deal to force. The report driving the excitement is a projection about New Orleans’s future cap crunch, not a signal the Pelicans are ready to sell.
The source’s own framing is the honest one: if Jones plays well and the Pelicans struggle, the Lakers should have a far more realistic path to acquiring him during or after the 2026-27 season. That’s the discipline the moment calls for. Pursue him if New Orleans’s price finally drops and the fit stays clean — but a depleted pick chest means the Lakers shouldn’t empty what’s left to pry loose a wing shooting under 40% when the seller has no reason to blink.
Chase him at their number, on their timeline. Not a dollar or a pick more.
Source: heavy.com
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