The Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat are in similar situations. Both teams have closing championship windows behind aging superstars, and both have had consistent shortcomings in the playoffs since meeting in the 2020 bubble edition of the finals. Therefore, the trade rumors will heat up with the time running out to maximize their potential.
The Lakers could be in the mix for Heat star Jimmy Butler
Heat star forward Jimmy Butler will be at the forefront of those rumors, especially considering that the six-time All-Star said over the summer that he will not sign an extension with Miami or any other team before hitting free agency in 2025.
The Heat seemed to finally choose a direction when they signed All-Star center Bam Adebayo to a three-year, $166 million extension this offseason. This could indicate that Butler’s time in Miami could be coming to an end, as they have dedicated most of their financial assets to their younger players to build a better roster. The team is in a weird place of mediocrity after being an early first-round exit in the playoffs last season as the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed.
Mock trade has the Lakers send a haul for Butler
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey proposed five different trade packages for teams to acquire Butler, including one in which the Lakers give up a haul of assets to add the All-Star forward to a team that already has LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the frontcourt. The trade reads as follows:
Lakers get: Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson
Heat get: D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Dalton Khnect, Gabe Vincent, 2029 first-round pick, 2031 first-round pick
Undoubtedly, the Lakers would surrender a ton of future assets to go all-in for a championship run with a Butler, James, and Davis trio if they were to do this deal. There’s no doubt what Butler could bring to Los Angeles, as his winning pedigree would mesh perfectly with James and Davis’ workhorse mentalities and make the Lakers one of the toughest teams in the entire league.
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The Lakers still have other important areas to address
Richardson gives them depth in the backcourt to make up for the loss of three guards in this trade, but moving Hachimura takes away size from them, which could be problematic. Davis recently spoke up wishing that the Lakers would add more frontcourt depth behind him, as they lack great talent in that area and the injury to Christian Wood only weakens that depth more.
Hachimura is not a game-changing player and can easily be dealt in a trade, but the Lakers would need to have a backup plan to acquire a big man who can give them strong minutes, and giving up four players and two first-round picks could limit the amount of resources they can move for a guy that could enhance their depth. Butler is going to cost a fortune to acquire, and while he gives the Lakers an additional superstar, the question becomes do they have enough around them?
Along with the aforementioned frontcourt issues, moving Russell, Vincent, and Khnect extremely limits the Lakers’ options in the backcourt. While the team’s offense typically runs through James, opposing defenses will be able to blitz him without reliable options around him. Butler is capable of running the floor as well, but he is not a very good three-point shooter, and not having capable scorers around them could create a massive spacing issue.
The Lakers must think critically before potentially pulling the trigger
Nevertheless, the Lakers will still benefit from adding Butler, as it would give them a winning player to play alongside two future Hall of Famers and certainly make them a better team than they were before. Making a trade for a superstar is always a big risk, and sometimes it is the risk that is worth taking. But the Lakers must be cautious with their available resources and make the right decisions to avoid a repeat of the disappointing 2012 offseason trades of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard.
