The dust has barely settled on the deal that brought Marcus Smart to Tinseltown, but the Los Angeles Lakers may not be done just yet.
After adding the aforementioned Smart, Deandre Ayton, and Jake LaRavia to build around Luka Doncic (and LeBron James, for now), another name is being linked to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Grant Afseth of FastbreakJournal.com detailed that sources have floated the connection between the Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers star Jrue Holiday.
“Multiple sources recently told FastbreakJournal.com that Holiday is a name to monitor, particularly as a potential target for the Los Angeles Lakers,” writes Afseth. “That’s not to say active conversations are taking place, but his name continues to surface in NBA circles as the team evaluates options to add more talent around LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Other teams are monitoring the situation, though the Lakers are widely viewed as one of the most natural fits if Portland explores a deal.”
Could the former UCLA Bruin come back home to Los Angeles?
Is Jrue Holiday A Fit For The Los Angeles Lakers
A two-time NBA All-Star, Holiday is entering the back part of his career at 35 years old. However, he still averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 62 games played with the Boston Celtics last season.
The Trail Blazers recently brought back Damian Lillard, making Holiday more expendable (even though they just traded for him a few weeks ago), but his contract is what complicates things. He is set to make $32.4 million in 2025-26 and is signed through the 2027-28 season with $37.2 million player option in that final year.
He would bring a nice balance of offense and defense to the Lakers, but that is a pretty penny to pay to someone with slight injury concerns and closer in age to 40 than 30.
However, if they choose to pursue, the Lakers have plenty of assets to get a deal done. Dalton Kenecht has seen his trade value dwindle with a poor summer performance, but he is just entering his 2nd year, so he would give the Trail Blazers a high upside, young player. We also know that Rui Hachimura is a solid player on the wing who could be involved in a deal.
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Holiday could likely start alongside Luka Doncic in the backcourt, if head coach JJ Redick opted to go with a small lineup. That would move Austin Reaves to SF, LeBron James to PF, and have Deandre Ayton at Center (assuming Hachimura is involved in the trade).
Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia would then be great options off the bench.
This is still in the NBA trade rumors stage, but with how active both the Lakers and Trail Blazers have been, this is certainly one to monitor.