Lakers Trade Pitch Lands Former Duke Star, Summer League MVP

All recent indications say the Los Angeles Lakers are done making offseason moves for the time being. But if a trade comes up that would be hard to turn down, as seen in the past, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka would likely not pass up on the opportunity.

After a busy summer with Luka Doncic’s extension and weight loss, LeBron James’ eventful offseason, and adding free agents, the Lakers could make one more move in hopes of filling out their roster with another big man.

According to a trade pitch from Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles could trade Dalton Knecht to the Utah Jazz for former Duke star and reigning Summer League MVP Kyle Filipowski.

Filipowski For Knecht Mock Trade

Per S.I., a Lakers trade pitch would send Knecht and a conditional 2026 first-round pick swap to the Jazz for Filipowski. 

The benefit for Los Angeles is clear: Filipowski is a big man who just won Summer League MVP. He had a strong rookie season, though the minutes were sparse, and the Lakers could always use another rim protector instead of another guard. 

Knecht had a slow start last season. After a scorching college career, he had, and will continue to have, a minimized spot on a Lakers lineup featuring Doncic, Austin Reaves, and now Marcus Smart as players ahead of him in the depth chart.

Knecht also struggled in Summer League, with averages of 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 29.7% shooting. Opposingly, Filipowski’s MVP campaign saw him averaging 29.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 56.1% shooting from the field and 39.1% from deep in three games. 

The Jazz have their priority in the season after next, hoping to land A.J. Dybantsa out of BYU with the number one pick of the 2026 NBA Draft. They have a ton of assets and would likely be willing to get one more. Utah also has Lauri Markannen and Walker Kessler manning the middle, meaning a player like Filipowski could shine brighter somewhere else. 

If anyone needs any other reasoning from the Lakers’ side of things, they tried to trade Knecht earlier in the year for Mark Williams. The deal was never finalized, but they would have loved to have another big man after Rudy Gobert’s performance against them in the first round of the playoffs. 

Lakers Likely Done This Summer

According to an unnamed Western Conference executive, the Lakers are likely done this summer after adding Smart, Deandre Ayton, and Jake LaRavia. They are open to the idea of going after Gabe Vincent and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but in the likely scenario where those don’t go through, Pelinka expects to stay quiet until training camp begins. 

“They have not been attacking the trade market by any stretch of the imagination,” the unnamed exec said, per Athlon Sports. “Most teams now are in a sort-of wait-and-see mode, and I would include the Lakers in that. They want to give it some time before they make a trade.”

None of the moves the Lakers made this summer are major risks, and a Knecht for Filipowski trade likely wouldn’t be either. Both are entering their second year, still on their rookie deals, and one would benefit the Lakers in an area of the game they’ve struggled in since they traded Anthony Davis.

As seen with the Doncic trade, the Lakers will pounce on a deal they think benefits them the most. After Knecht’s rocky rookie year with the previous trade attempt, they could be shopping him again this summer.