The Athletic’s Jovan Buha is reporting that the Los Angeles Lakers will pursue a third star this offseason to pair alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
“Yes, they are,” Buha said when asked if the Lakers are going to chase a third star. “And I can confirm that from multiple sources. They are going third-star hunting this offseason. And we’ll see how that affects the D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell) situation. We’ll see how — you probably have to give up Austin [Reaves] in almost any…third-star trade. … Now, who’s available? The one name I continually hear is Trae Young. He’s been to Laker playoff games before. He’s a Klutch Sports client. That’s probably the most realistic one right now.
“What happens with Dallas and Kyrie [Irving]? Do they flame out? Do they lose in the play-in? Do they lose in round one? Does Dallas ultimately break that up? And then what’s the market for Kyrie? Donovan Mitchell, it seems like there’s been a little bit more growing optimism and buzz that he’s gonna stay in Cleveland. But even if he leaves, the two New York teams have reportedly been the favorites just because he’s from the greater New York area.”
Irving, Mitchell and Young have been linked to the Lakers for some time now, as Buha also reported back in February that the Lakers could target them in the summer.
Young has been sidelined for over a month due to a finger injury. But the Hawks — who own a mediocre 34-39 record overall — have been playing great as a team over the last week with him on the shelf.
Atlanta is riding a four-game winning streak and recently picked up two victories over the Boston Celtics, who are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The play of Dejounte Murray has been instrumental to the Hawks’ active winning streak. He has dropped 28-plus points in three of Atlanta’s four wins and torched the Celtics for 44 points on 18-of-44 shooting from the field in the team’s most recent victory on March 28.
Mitchell and Irving have experienced a lot more collective success with their teams — the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks — this season. The Cavaliers own the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, and the Mavericks are the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and on a six-game winning streak, which is the second-longest active winning streak in the NBA.
As for James, Davis and the Lakers, they are trying to secure a spot in the postseason. Los Angeles sits as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference and is 2.5 games ahead of the Houston Rockets, who are right outside of the play-in picture with the No. 11 seed.
The Lakers will try to rebound from their recent 19-point loss to the Indiana Pacers when they play the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. The Nets have gone a week without losing, as their most recent loss came against the New York Knicks on March 23.
