Lakers’ Perfect Offer for Trae Young to Hawks

LeBron James wants another star teammate as he approaches 40, but the Los Angeles Lakers’ efforts in the trade and free-agent market have so far failed. After failing to sign Klay Thompson, James Harden and Jonas Valanciunas, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young could be one of the last semi-realistic names left.

Not only do the Hawks want to get rid of Young, but the Lakers’ main competitor for his services may be out of the running for the time being, via Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.

“Chris Paul, for the Spurs, probably rules out San Antonio as a destination for Trae Young right now,” O’Connor said. “At CP3’s age, he’s just a backup before the next wave of available point guards: Still Trae? Or Fox? Or maybe Stephon Castle blossoms. There’s also a star French point guard in the 2025 draft: Nolan Traore.”

While Chicago Bulls point guard DeMar DeRozan is also reportedly on James’ wish list, Young might be a better fit on the court. DeRozan is a slasher, while Young is more of a scorer and facilitator from three levels. Los Angeles could use a better perimeter shot, as they ranked just 15th with a 29.9% shooting percentage from beyond the arc last year.

DeRozan, who shot 33.3 percent from three last season, is a capable shooter when he’s free. Young, however, is a bigger threat, shooting 37.3 percent from the field last year.

The problem, however, is the Lakers’ lack of assets. The team has no top-tier players to give up outside of James and Anthony Davis, and its number of draft picks continues to dwindle.

That being said, it’s still possible. How could Los Angeles manage to trade Young?

Lakers expected to give up almost all of their picks

Los Angeles doesn’t have a huge pool of picks, but it still has enough to turn heads, via Spotrac’s NBA Trade Machine.

The Lakers currently own a first-round pick in each year from 2026 to 2030, as well as second-round picks in 2025 (two), 2027 and 2030. Los Angeles could potentially offer the following package for Young’s services: 2026 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick (pick swap), 2028 first-round pick, 2029 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick (pick swap) and two 2025 second-round picks.

For good measure, the team should probably add a young player the Hawks could also develop, like 21-year-old point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.

The deal would help both teams in their respective missions. While Los Angeles would have only two second-round picks left by 2030, the team’s offense would be significantly improved in time for James to have another shot at a title. The team could field a starting lineup of Young, Austin Reaves, James, Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis, with D’Angelo Russell as the sixth man.

Meanwhile, Atlanta could stockpile a plethora of picks to help speed up its rebuild. The Hawks wouldn’t be in contention anytime soon, but they would be able to sign plenty of promising talent around Jalen Johnson and 2024 first overall pick Zacharrie Risacher.

Integrating Young into the Lakers’ offense would help take the pressure off James, who could conserve more of his energy for the end of games. While “Ice Trae” is a defensive liability, the Purple and Gold could make up for that with Davis’s hoop protection.

It’s rare for a team to throw away nearly all of its draft picks, but this may be a rare example of the stars aligning. Still, expect the Lakers to continue doing everything they can to please “The King.”