Lakers Reportedly Offering First-Round Pick For Veteran Forward

The Lakers are trending in the right direction, and they apparently will try to keep moving upward by bolstering their roster.

Los Angeles will be a team to keep an eye on ahead of the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline. Several potential Lakers moves were floated by The Athletic’s Shams Charania in a column published Monday, including a deal for a journeyman shooter.

According to Charania, the Lakers have “discussed packages including salaries and a protected first-round pick” in exchange for Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic continues to be a bright spot for a last-place Detroit team, averaging 21 points per game to go along with a 50.8 field-goal percentage.

It doesn’t sound like acquiring Bogdanovic will be easy for LA, though. Charania reported “roughly a dozen” teams are interested in the 33-year-old, who’s currently playing on his fifth NBA team since 2014. Furthermore, the Pistons reportedly have expressed “significant reluctance” about trading Bogdanovic to rival teams, as the Croatian has become a leader for one of the younger clubs in the league.

If the Lakers aren’t able to swing a deal for Bogdanovic, perhaps they could reset their sights to Evan Fournier and Cam Reddish, a pair of New York Knicks forwards who reportedly are drawing interest from LA. Charania reported the Phoenix Sun’s Jae Crowder and the Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins “surely” are available for trade as well.

The Lakers probably have moved away from the panic button following their horrific start to the season. But in order to legitimately contend in the Western Conference, it’s pretty clear the Purple and Gold need to do something to the roster.