As the Lakers look to add a 3-and-D wing before the trade deadline, new reporting has outlined exactly how they could get there.
Insider Reveals Lakers’ Latest Trade Chips Ahead of 2026 Deadline
O’Connor: Lakers Hoping to Flip Rotational Players, Future First-Round Pick
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Lakers are looking to move on from Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent in exchange for a wing, as well as trading a 2032 first-round pick for other first-rounders.
“With the Lakers, the word on the street is they’re trying to package Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent together for a wing. Now, the really interesting thing with them is, they’ve been shopping around their future 2032 first-round pick for multiple first-round draft picks. Similar to what the Suns did a year ago when they traded their 2031 pick to the Jazz for three lesser firsts in ’25, ’27 and ’29. So it seems like the Lakers are looking for two or three firsts that are worse individually than their future first, giving them more parts to put together in like Vincent plus Vanderbilt, or Vincent plus Kleber types of packages.”
O’Connor then reiterated the team’s interest in Herb Jones—who he described as “too pricey”—along with Trey Murphy and Jonathan Kuminga, the latter of whom requested a trade this morning. All three players fit the mold of what the Lakers are looking for, though it appears Jones is the most coveted option—and also the hardest to acquire.
The Cases for Trading Vanderbilt and Vincent
Once viewed as promising rotation pieces, Vanderbilt and Vincent have each struggled to contribute in meaningful ways, racking up less-than-ideal performances while missing significant time due to injuries.
Although Vando has brought much-needed energy to the bench—impacting the team with his defense and rebounding—his subpar offensive production has raised alarms this season, which is likely why head coach JJ Redick didn’t play him for a month. Across 29 games, Vanderbilt has averaged five points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 46.2% from the field, 31.4% from three and 71% from the free-throw line.
Despite showing a willingness to expand his game to the perimeter, Vanderbilt has done little to help a bench that’s dead-last in points per game. With Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart outplaying the 26-year-old forward, it may finally be time to part ways with the Vandolorian.
Gabe Vincent, meanwhile, has been the target of Lakers fans’ trade machines for the past few seasons. From spending chunks of time on the sidelines to being (mostly) a non-factor on the floor, it’s almost inevitable that Vincent’s Laker tenure could end sooner rather than later. He’s averaged 5.4 points and 1.4 assists this season and has become a shell of the player he was with the Miami Heat. Those struggles make him hard to sell as a positive trade asset. However, Vincent and his expiring $11.5 million salary could be intriguing for rivals in need of a veteran floor general.
The Last Word
At 24-14 overall and standing fifth in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference, the Lakers may have another path to acquiring the needle-moving piece(s) they desperately need.
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