It's been quite stunning how many serious injuries have befallen superstars across the association — putting their contending hopes in considerable doubt. For instance, the Oklahoma City Thunder have some serious roster questions to address in the aftermath of Jalen Williams' broken leg and dislocated ankle, while the Minnesota Timberwolves' depth will be put to the test amid Anthony Edwards' knee injury that would keep him out for at least two months.
To that end, perhaps the Los Angeles Lakers would sense blood in the water and feel as though the Western Conference is ripe for the taking. The Lakers have started the season with just one loss in four contests, and it looks like the front office's vision for building around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves is coming to life.
It feels very early for the Lakers to make any sort of blockbuster trade to try and boost their contending odds. But in the NBA, contending windows don't stay open very long, especially in today's second apron landscape. They may want to go for it more aggressively as injury woes shake up their other contending peers.
Here are some trade ideas, that may or may not be realistic, which could help fuel a deep playoff run for the Lakers with Western Conference supremacy seemingly up for grabs.
The Lakers capitalize on Heat panic, trade for either Giannis or Bam
At the moment, the Miami Heat are winless through four games. They are joined by the Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans, and Sacramento Kings as the only winless teams remaining in the NBA, and that is not the kind of company any team with contending aspirations would want to keep.
Suffice to say, the start of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era in Miami hasn't been great. Him and Bam Adebayo have been shaky together, particularly on offense, where one is inhabiting the other's preferred spaces to operate on the court and vice versa. The stretches where Miami has looked best thus far this season have been when either Antetokounmpo or Adebayo have been playing alongside a floor-spacer in Bobby Portis.
Knowing how much the Heat invested to bring Antetokounmpo in, it's not very likely for them to pull the plug this early, if at all. They will look to ride the wave and patiently learn how to make this pairing work.
But if they end up wanting out, the Lakers could at least do their due diligence and float a call towards the Heat front office.
Antetokounmpo would give this Lakers team the dominant force they need on the interior that would open up so much space for Doncic to do his thing on the perimeter. On paper, that duo would wreck teams, provided, of course, that LA manages to keep a workable team in the hypothetical universe where they pull off this heist.
Any trade for Antetokounmpo will have to start with Reaves; Antetokounmpo is making around $58.5 million this season, while Reaves' salary for the 2026-27 campaign is at $41.2 million, so LA will need to add a few more pieces. But inserting Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaden Hardy's contracts into that deal should solve the salary-matching problem.
However, the Lakers do not control their first-round picks from 2027 to 2031, as well as in 2033. They do not have the draft assets to make a potential deal appealing at all for a Heat franchise that traded a boatload of its young players and draft picks to bring Giannis in.
Perhaps trading for Adebayo would be more doable for the Lakers. Alas, the Heat consider Adebayo a franchise legend, and are not just going to give up on him willy-nilly. But a potential trade package for Adebayo built around Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, and Collin Sexton makes sense, financially-speaking, although the lack of draft picks makes any deal here close to impossible.
Nonetheless, it is still worth mentioning this scenario since we all know from the Doncic trade that Lakers exceptionalism is a real thing.
Aaron Gordon to fill LA's void at the four?
To open the 2026-27 season, the Denver Nuggets haven't been playing inspired basketball to say the least. They got blown out by the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder, and they had to come back from 23 down against the New Orleans Pelicans to get their first win of the season.
The Nuggets' core is aging, their depth is poor, and they are currently in second apron hell. Maybe the Lakers could take advantage of this by trading for Aaron Gordon, one of the best role players in the NBA and someone who legitimately shows up in the postseason.
Gordon is making $32 million this season, but the Lakers can trade away Quentin Grimes, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Jake LaRavia to match salaries. The Nuggets could also ask for rookie guard Cameron Carr to make up for the fact that the Lakers don't have any first-round picks to trade.
Article Continues BelowThe Lakers have started Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle at the forward positions to start the season. While both have been solid in the early goings of the new campaign, Gordon is a much-more proven option who is also more self-sufficient on offense — giving the Lakers' offense another dimension. And with Doncic and Reaves doing the bulk of creation, Gordon's legs shouldn't be overburdened in LA.
It's not quite clear yet if the Nuggets will be willing to give Gordon up. But he'll certainly be an upgrade for the Lakers at the four, giving the team a playoff-proven option at that position.
The Purple and Gold upgrade at backup center with Day'Ron Sharpe addition
The Lakers chose to enter the 2026-27 season with Kevon Looney as Kessler's unquestioned backup at center. But at this stage of Looney's career, he doesn't seem to be the best option for that role. He's ground-bound, doesn't protect the rim, and isn't much of a scoring threat.
At the very least, trading for Day'Ron Sharpe would give the Lakers an athletic backup center who just does his job on the court — rebound the ball and block shots. LA most likely will have to go through the San Antonio Spurs if they were to compete for a title, and they will need size and depth at the five to help combat Victor Wembanyama.
Sharpe is making $10 million this season, and a straight swap between him and Sexton works financially.