Strengthen the lineup! The Lakers and Raptors are expected to trade 1 for 4, and the 24-year-old defender assists James

The NBA journey in the 2024-25 season is full of drama and regrets for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the regular season, they ranked third in the Western Conference with a record of 50 wins and 32 losses and successfully entered the playoffs. They thought this was a good start to the championship, but the result of losing to the Timberwolves 1-4 in the first round surprised everyone. This situation was mainly due to the weakness of poor defense on the back line and poor offense and defense on the inside line, which was exposed. This situation was caused by the middle of the season. The Lakers exchanged Anthony Davis for Luca Doncic. Although Doncic's arrival gave the Lakers a young and creative top-level ball-holding core. When the team's record also rose, the negative impact of the transaction was also obvious. After losing Davis, the inside line lost its strength and Hayes was unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the inside line. In the playoffs, the team's defeat was inevitable.

After the end of this season, the offseason has a heavy task left to management, such as the inside reinforcing is imminent, and the improvement of defensive ability in the backcourt is also crucial. It is necessary to introduce tough defensive players to make up for the shortcomings of Doncic and Reeves on the defensive end. In response to this situation, Ethen, the author of the US media Sportskeeda, proposed that the Los Angeles Lakers consider betting on the Toronto Raptors' forward guard swinger Barrett, and gave a potential offer. Let's take a look at the specific situation. How:

Raptors Toronto won: Hachimura Leaf, Vincent, 2028 first-round draft pick, 2030 first-round draft pick

The Raptors performed poorly this season, and they would not continue to play badly next season. The offseason must optimize the lineup, and sending out Barrett does not have a big impact on the team, because the team already has young players such as Ingram and Scotty Barnes. In this case, Barrett will naturally leave the team, so how to get chips in this deal First of all, Hachimura can perform well on both offense and defense. He averaged 13.1 points, 5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in 31.6 minutes, and his three shooting percentages were 50.9%, 41.3%, and 77% respectively. Vincent also has a certain amount of combat power and can improve the depth of the substitute. In addition, he also obtained two first-round picks, which is also conducive to the team to better strengthen the lineup and rise quickly.

Los Angeles Lakers won: RJ Barrett

For the Lakers, only by strengthening the team will be stronger next season, so what about getting chips in this trade? Barrett has excellent scoring ability, good at using strong bodies to kill the penalty area to create physical contact to complete goals, and has a high foul rate; as the team's main ball holding point, it has certain organizational and creative abilities, and can understand the passing of the game; has good running ability without the ball, and is good at catching the ball quickly Starting offense quickly also has good defensive potential, moving quickly, moving sideways quickly, and being able to defend multiple positions. This season, averaging 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists, with a three-point shooting percentage of 33%. If the Lakers get him, they can fill the problem of insufficient ball holding points on the front line. Especially when James gets older and needs to reduce regular season consumption, Barrett can share the pressure as the second or third scoring point, and can also optimize the Lakers' outside space and improve their defensive ability. If it can be achieved, it will be quite good for the team.

Overall, this deal is very good for both teams. So whether it can be finally reached is welcome to discuss!