Lakers’ next free agency target; big trade domino that could fall: NBA Rumour Mill

The biggest names have been snapped up but there are still a host of stars across the NBA that could be on the move, with the Lakers hoping to land one of them.

Here is the latest free agency and trade news to know across the league!

WARRIORS LAND SHARPSHOOTER TO REPLACE KLAY

The Golden State Warriors may have lost Klay Thompson but they have found quite the replacement, landing sharpshooter Buddy Hield in free agency.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the news on Friday, with the Warriors acquiring Hield via sign-and-trade from the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that will involve five teams.

“The Warriors will send a 2031 second-round pick from Dallas, received in the Klay Thompson departure, back to Philadelphia in return, rerouting it as part of the five-team deal that also includes the Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves,” Charania wrote.

Hield has reportedly signed a four-year deal with two years and $18 million guaranteed, with a $3 million partial guarantee in the third year and a player option in the fourth year, which is not guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Charania, meanwhile, reported that Hield chose the Warriors “because of the opportunity to win”, overlooking interest from the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.

LAKERS TURN ATTENTION TO ANOTHER TARGET

Speaking of the Lakers, with Hield off to Golden State and Thompson headed to the Mavericks, they have set their sights on another high-end scorer to help bolster their lineup for next season.

Los Angeles is now trying to land free agent DeMar DeRozan, according to a report by The Athletic.

The LA native and USC product is a six-time All-Star and averaged 24 points per game last season for the Bulls.

His time in the Windy City is all but over, but the Lakers aren’t the only team interested in trying to add DeRozan’s services.

Both the Miami Herald and The Athletic reported that the Heat have an interest in bringing in the forward as well, with Miami viewed as the slight favourite to land DeRozan.

DeRozan, 34, has met with the Heat and discussed what his potential fit would be, and it appeared that there was a mutual interest between the two sides, according to the Miami Herald.

There may be some complications for the Heat to land DeRozan, with Miami likely having to facilitate a trade of a player who makes decent money to a team with cap space and thus allowing the room for Miami to pull off a sign and trade with the Bulls for DeRozan.

If the Heat wanted to go the non-trade route, they would be able to sign him at the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception rate.

The Lakers, though, have said that they plan on being aggressive to update the roster.

“I think we’re gonna always be aggressive to try to make roster upgrades and will be relentless to continue to look at what we can do,” general manager Rob Pelinka said, according to The Athletic.

“This is the season of being mindful of all the different things we can approach to improve the roster. So we’re in the midst of that as we speak.

“That will continue in the coming days, and it often spills into Vegas, where all the GMs meet and gather, and other deals get done. But we’ll stay aggressive.”

— New York Post

NEXT BIG TRADE DOMINO THAT COULD FALL

In other news, it still sounds like the New Orleans Pelicans are looking to trade Brandon Ingram.

The Pelicans made a big all-in swing by landing Dejounte Murray but NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Friday that attempts to trade Ingram have “intensified in recent days”, citing league sources.

“Sources tell The Stein Line that on Ingram’s side, with the reality that the contract extension terms his camp had hoped for are not forthcoming from the Pelicans, there has likewise been exploration of trade options,” Stein added.

He went on to report that re-signing Trey Murphy III and adding to the frontcourt in the wake of Jonas Valanciunas’ departure to Washington are two other priorities for New Orleans this offseason along with the Ingram trade.

As for which teams could be in the hunt for Ingram, Stein wrote that the Sacramento Kings are said to have “explored the feasibility and fit of an Ingram pursuit”.

The Kings look to be very active in trade talks though, with Stein adding Sacramento has had similar discussions on Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, Washington’s Kyle Kuzma and Chicago’s DeRozan.

Crucially, Stein wrote that Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes are the pieces the Kings would look to package in such a trade — not Keegan Murray.

SIXERS LOOKING TO SIGN PAUL GEORGE’S FORMER CLIPPERS TEAMMATE

Elsewhere, Paul George may have a familiar face join him in Philadelphia.

The 76ers are considering signing George’s former Clippers teammate and Philadelphia native Marcus Morris Sr. as part of their roster re-tool, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Morris reportedly has a host of suitors, including the Pistons, Spurs, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Heat, Mavericks and Hornets.

George is headlining the 76ers’ acquisitions after agreeing to a four-year, $212 million max contract early in free agency, and Philadelphia is now looking for ways to improve on the margins.

Morris played alongside George for four seasons with the Clippers from 2019-23, and having a familiar face could help George’s transition.

The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that the former Kansas star would help provide some toughness, which seemed to be lacking during the 76ers’ first-round playoff loss to the Knicks this spring.

The Knicks ultimately seemed like the tougher team than the 76ers, consistently making critical plays in crunch time and rising to the occasion.

Ironically, the 76ers could have had Morris’ toughness last postseason but they traded him to the Spurs in the three-team trade that brought sharpshooter Buddy Hield to the City of Brotherly Love.

The Spurs promptly waived the veteran and he joined the Cavaliers for their playoff push, which ended with a second-round loss to the eventual champion Celtics.

Morris averaged 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds last season spanning his time with the 76ers and Cavaliers.

“The 6-foot-8, 218-pounder’s high basketball IQ, selfless play, and Philly toughness were on full display here,” the paper reported.

“He made the Sixers better not only with his play but with his leadership on and off the court.”

The 76ers have been one of the busier teams in the NBA during free agency, while they try to keep pace in the arms race that has engulfed the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia also retained wing Kelly Oubre and added veteran guard Eric Gordon and rebounding whiz Andre Drummond, while notably losing Tobias Harris to the Pistons.

The 76ers’ flurry of activity pushed them past the Knicks in 2024-25 title odds, with Philadelphia owning the fourth-best odds at FanDuel and second in the Eastern Conference behind the Celtics.

— New York Post