Jake LaRavia’s ankle turned a 127-105 opening-night rout of Golden State into a conversation about depth. Afterward, JJ Redick said “I’m probably more positive than when it first happened.”
The ankle is not the hole that matters most, though. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported last week that the Lakers were shopping for frontcourt help, and they finished camp parting with Dalton Knecht without acquiring the additional big man they had pursued.
The Wings Can Cover for LaRavia
LaRavia earned his spot. He secured a role as a key member of the Lakers’ bench during preseason and scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting Wednesday before he went down. A short absence hurts more because the Lakers didn’t have Adou Thiero, Cameron Carr, or Collin Sexton on Wednesday.
Still, this summer’s rebuild was built for exactly this. The Lakers added several wings with size who could shoot: Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Quentin Grimes.
The real gap is at center. Walker Kessler is the only true starting-caliber big on the roster, with Kevon Looney behind him and Sandro Mamukelashvili able to cover the five in a pinch. Kessler going 12-for-12 in his debut doesn’t change the fact that one injury would leave Looney as the starter.
The Roster Deadline Killed Most of the Ideas
Two widely circulated proposals no longer work. Fischer reported exploratory talks on Knecht plus second-round picks for Milwaukee’s Jericho Sims, but he also said he’d heard some pessimism from sources briefed on those talks. Knecht has since been waived, which ends that version.
The second was Jaden Hardy for Dallas’ Moussa Cissé. That idea died when the Mavericks waived Dwight Powell and kept Cissé. Marc Stein had also reported that the Lakers’ interest was in signing Cissé on a two-way contract if he were cut, not in trading for him.
Smith for Hardy Is the One Version Still Alive
The earlier version of a Jalen Smith package would have sent Jaden Hardy, Dalton Knecht and two future second-round picks to Chicago, so it fell apart once Knecht was waived. The updated version drops Knecht: Smith to the Lakers, with Hardy and a 2031 second-round pick going to Chicago.
The mechanics are the open question. Hardy makes about $6 million this season, and The Athletic’s Dan Woike put Smith at one-year, $9.5 million remaining, so the Lakers would be taking back roughly $3.5 million more than they send out. The salary-matching and apron math depends on cap figures that haven’t been fully reported since the summer’s moves, so these numbers are approximate and the swap may need a third piece.
Smith would fill a real need: he shot 48.3% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range last season, which is spacing Looney doesn’t offer.
The hard part is Chicago. Woike reported that Smith “has some fans within the organization” in Los Angeles. He also noted the old Bulls front office liked Smith, which made it unclear whether Chicago would actually move him.
Since then, Heavy’s Sean Deveney reported that the Bulls could cash in on him as the season gets rolling and teams clearly have big man needs. Two weeks ago, Jovan Buha said a trade for Smith — or any big man — is far from imminent.
No Trade Is Coming This Month
The Lakers won’t trade for bench help before LaRavia’s diagnosis is known. The front office went through all of camp without accepting a deal, and Rob Pelinka is more than willing to pass on a trade if he’s not 100% sure it would improve the roster.
A wing injury that looks better than first feared won’t change that, especially with Williams, Thybulle and Grimes available.
When a move does come, expect it to be Smith for Hardy, made once Chicago’s new front office has seen its rotation for a month and decides Smith is expendable. Hardy is the right salary to send out: he is a guard on a roster with plenty of them, and his number is close enough to Smith’s to build around.
Until then, the Lakers’ real bench risk is one Kessler injury, not LaRavia’s ankle.
Source: Jake Fischer of The Stein Line
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