4 ‘Affordable’ Stars Who Could Be Superstars On Los Angeles Lakers

Rather than chasing older max-contract third superstars, the Los Angeles Lakers would be wise to target younger, more affordable, two-way stars with the upside to become superstars with bigger roles on a better team.

Targeting a player in their mid-twenties earning less than $25 million per year will cost major draft capital but leave the Lakers with the matching salaries and space below second tax apron to build a deep, diverse roster.
The new CBA with its second luxury tax apron and new unprecedented financial and competitive penalties has made it almost impossible to build championship caliber rosters if paying max salaries to three superstars.

The Lakers have refused in the past to trade first round picks for elite role players like Myles Turner and Dejounte Murray, preferring instead to save those picks to trade for superstars like Anthony Davis or Russell Westbrook.
The time’s now come for the Lakers to change that strategy. They learned firsthand how trading first round draft picks for elite role players instead of superstars has transformed Celtics, Nuggets, and Mavs into contenders.

The Lakers must see that the NBA is undergoing a changing of the guard with younger stars and teams taking over from older stars and teams and an evolution of the game where size, length, and athleticism dominate.
The Lakers need a roster building strategy that targets rising stars who could function as the team’s third star for the next two or three years and take over as AD’s co-superstar when LeBron James retires from the league.

The Los Angeles Lakers portfolio of available trading chips is their best in years and includes their 2024, 2029, and 2031 first round draft picks, 2026, 2028, and 2030 first round pick swaps, and five second round draft picks.
Ideally, the Lakers would keep the #17 pick in the draft for a backup center and then use draft capital to trade for two of these four young affordable two-way prospects without giving up Austin Reaves or Max Christie.

Here are four affordable young two-way stars with superstar upside who are 26 or 27 years old, earn between $17 to $25 million per year, and are available for right trade package of matching salaries and draft capital.

1. Lauri Markkanen

Lauri Markkanen, PF, 7' 0", 240 lbs, 27-years old, 1-yr @ $18.0M
23.2/8.2/2.0 on 16.2/8.0/5.0 shooting 48.0/39.9/89.9% in 33.1 mpg

27-year old Lauri Markkanen should be at the top of the Lakers’ offseason trade target board as he is the perfect third superstar to complement James and Davis and pair with Davis when James retires in two or three years.

Markannen’s elite size, length, athleticism, and volume 3-point shooting would transform the Lakers’ starting lineup and half-court offense into a juggernaut. He shot a sizzling 39.9% from deep on 8.0 attempts per game.
Besides giving the Lakers a desperately needed volume 3-point shooter, Markkanen also enables L.A. to double down on dominating points-in-the-paint and free-throws-made while becoming competitive on 3-pointers.

Reports indicate the Jazz are likely looking to trade rather than re-sign the 27-year old Markkanen provided they get a significant offer for the Finnish star. Lauri’s in the final year of his contract and will be due for a big raise.
The offer to get the Jazz to trade Markkanen to the Lakers would include Rui Hachimura, unprotected 2029 first round pick, unprotected 2028 first round pick swap, and remove 1–4 protection from 2027 first round pick.

This trade would essentially give Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz 3 straight years of totally unprotected rights to the Los Angeles Lakers’ post LeBron James first round draft picks for the 2027, 2028, and 2029 NBA seasons.
Hopefully, that’s the kind of offer that could motivate Danny Ainge to trade Lauri Markkanen to the Lakers. It leverages the top-four protected 2027 first round draft pick Los Angeles previously traded to Utah last year.

The Lakers top offseason trade target should be the Utah Jazz’ Lauri Markkanen, whom would immediately and dramatically upgrade our starting lineup and roster to legitimate championship caliber.

2. DeJounte Murray

Dejounte Murray, SG, 6' 5", 180 lbs, 26-years old, 1-yrs @ $17.4M NG
22.5/5.3/6.4 on 18.8/7.1/3.4 shooting 45.9/36.3/79.4% in 35.7 mpg

26-year old combo guard Dejounte Murray should be second on the Lakers’ offseason trade target big board as he is the perfect two-way third star to upgrade the team’s backcourt and complement superstars James and Davis.

While the Lakers had an interest in trading for Dejounte Murray last season, they were unwilling to include draft picks as compensation. In retrospect, Dejounte enjoyed a clutch breakout season with the Hawks.
Murray showcased his two-way skillsets last season, averaging over 20 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists per game while sharing backcourt duties with Young and shooting 36.3% from deep on 7.1 attempts per game.

The pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray has not worked for the Hawks. Recent reports indicate the Hawks are likely to keep Trae Young and their #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft and trade Dejounte Murray.
That’s great news for the Lakers. Trading for Dejounte, who makes $25.4 million per year, would let them build a deeper, more diverse roster than trading for Trae, whose $43.0 million annual salary would hobble them.

The Lakers know Russell and Reaves are not good enough defensively to succeed as a championship backcourt but both are still valuable rotation players who would be hard to replace. The smarter move is keep both.
If the Lakers can trade for Dejounte Murray, they should pair him with D’Angelo Russell while moving Austin Reaves to the bench. The Lakers would then have the elite volume 3-point shooting backcourt they need.

The Lakers should send Hachimura, Hood-Schifino, unprotected 2031 first round pick, and 2030 first round pick swap to the Hawks for Dejounte Murray to become their third star next to superstars James and Davis.

3. Jonathan Isaac

Jonathan Isaac, PF, 6' 10", 230 lbs, 26-years old, 1-yrs @ $17.4M NG
6.8/4.5/0.5 on 4.9/1.9/1.4 shooting 51.0/37.5/77.1% in 15.8 mpg

26-year old Jonathan Isaac is the ‘wild card’ on the Lakers offseason trade target big board. Unlike Markkanen and Murray, Jonathan Isaac has such a rough injury history he should be easily acquired with the right offer.

While health makes Isaac’s floor dangerously low, Jonathan has such a high ceiling and is such a perfect fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis that the Lakers should seriously consider trading with Orlando to get him.
Isaac is without question the best two-way player of the four candidates. Defensively, he is the closest thing to an Anthony Davis clone you can find. He can protect the rim and defend all five positions at all three levels.

What makes the Boston Celtics so tough is that they have five guys on offense who can shoot the three and five guys on defense who can switch everything. This is the ultimate extension of positionless basketball.
While the Lakers would need assurances from their medical staff that Isaac is fully recovered, he is the kind of young, affordable two-way star who can stretch the floor, protect the rim, and switch out on the perimeter.

Orlando is so stacked with talent that there may no longer be a place for the now healthy and uber talented Jonathan Isaac despite the Magic sticking with him through three complete straight seasons lost to major injuries.
The $17.4 million final year salary of Isaac’s contract is not guaranteed. The Lakers should offer a package of Rui Hachimura and a top-four protected 2029 first round draft pick to the Magic for the 26-year old Jonathan Isaac.

Jonathan Isaac is the ‘wild card’ option among these four young affordable stars who could become superstars on Lakers as he has a lower floor but a higher ceiling and may be more attainable than Markkanen or Murray.

4. Mikal Bridges

Mikal Bridges, SF, 6' 6", 209 lbs, 27-years old, 2-yrs @ $23.3M
19.6/4.5/3.6 on 15.8/7.2/3.9 shooting 43.6/37.2/81.4% in 34.8 mpg

Mikal Bridges is the last and probably the hardest of the four affordable young stars for the Lakers to trade for. Recent rumors indicate that the Nets may prefer to keep Bridges and find a second star to pair with him.

The prototype 3&D wing that every NBA team covets, Bridges will likely draw more interest than even Markannen and Murray and will certainly require multiple picks and swaps for a team to pry him away from Nets.
Bridges is a long shot for the Lakers. His greatest advantage is he is a true small forward, which would mean Anthony Davis would play center while LeBron James would be able to play his preferred power forward position.

The Lakers desperately need a bigger point-of-attack defender who can guard the 6' 7" to 6' 10" wing scorers every team in the West seems to have. Lakers need to stop trying to defend these scorers with smaller guards.
Lakers fans are tired of watching bigger wing scorers taking smaller Lakers shooting guards into the paint and easily shooting over them with easy midrange jump shots. That’s why the Lakers need somebody like Bridges.

One of the major decisions the Lakers need to make when rebuilding their starting lineup going forward is who plays power forward. If the Lakers opt to start two-bigs, then Davis or the second big will play power forward.
The problem with that scenario is that it forces LeBron James to play small forward, which often involves chasing bigger wing scorers around multiple screens and picks, not what you want your 40-year old superstar doing.

Mikal Bridges would be a great fit as the Lakers starting small forward as he would allow Anthony Davis and LeBron James to play the 5 and 4 though they’re still a longshot to trade for him due to heavy competition.

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