After losing in the first round of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers might be going big game hunting this offseason. The club made an effort to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis with a group of reliable role players, but it was insufficient to advance past the halfway point.

Rather than taking the same route again, the Lakers might sell the farm to bring in a new high-profile player. The trade that sends Austin Reaves, Gabriel Vincent, Rai Hachimura, a 2029 first-round selection, and a 2031 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Trae Young was proposed by Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes.

Although GM Landry Fields appears to be certain that the Young-Murray backcourt isn’t functioning, Atlanta isn’t under any financial pressure to trade Young, Hughes wrote in a May 17 column. By making that belief public, he might have even diminished his team’s trade leverage.

This is a straight-up star play for the Lakers. More than anything else, LeBron James and Anthony Davis require two-way backup players, but Young has shown himself to be one of the league’s most potent offensive weapons on several occasions. His ability to set up simple looks for James and Davis and his possible impact on Los Angeles’ offense may be very beneficial.

Young is a terrible defender and has consistently been among the league leaders in turnovers, but there’s no doubting his explosiveness—he has averaged more than 25.0 points per game in all but one of his career’s seasons.

Trae Young May Not Be of Interest to the San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs appear to be the Lakers’ main rival if they decide to pursue Young. But according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, they might not be all that interested in the star guard.

Any Spurs plans to maneuver to get Young to San Antonio have been greatly exaggerated, according to various league figures with knowledge of the issue, Fischer wrote in a May 15 essay. According to insiders, the Spurs haven’t shown any interest in signing Young thus far.

This offseason, the Lakers could not face much opposition from the Spurs if they aren’t interested in Young. That might result in a somewhat lower asking price for him. Although acquiring Young won’t be inexpensive, the Lakers might be able to give up one first-round pick rather than two.

Los Angeles Lakers Have to Be Smart This Offseason

Young is a talented player that might work well with the Lakers, but before the franchise further jeopardizes its future, they need to be certain of that. The franchise cannot afford to experience another calamity like the Russell Westbrook trade.

It’s not as hazardous because Young is a different player than Westbrook and younger, but the Lakers cannot afford to make the same mistakes twice. In the NBA, the superteam strategy hasn’t proven successful in recent years, and adding Young would restrict the team’s options for the other players.

 James only has so many seasons left and the Lakers getting the roster wrong again could signal the end for the future Hall of Famer competing for championships. Los Angeles needs to be creative this offseason and general manager Rob Pelinka doesn’t have the best track record.