The Los Angeles Lakers have shown promise this season in the early going as LeBron James has seemingly found the fountain of youth and JJ Redick's team has jumped out to a 3-0 record.
The Lakers have surrounded the eldest James with plenty of shooters and Anthony Davis has shown flashes of being the championship player the NBA world saw in the 'Bubble' during the 2020 season's NBA Finals in Orlando, Florida.
The Lakers seem quite content with their current roster, but that may not necessarily preclude a trade later this season before the deadline according to a trade proposal floated by Colin Keane of Sporting News.
Keane suggested that the Pacers could send former number six overall pick Bennedict Mathurin to the Lakers if the right combination of players if offered by Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, a former bench player from Michigan's Fab Five team whose steady handed has guided the Lakers back to their winning ways.
Keane wrote that the Lakers may be able to tempt Pacers GM Chad Buchanan with a package of players that would improve Indiana's frontline depth in the wake of the recent non-contact Achilles injury to center James Wiseman.
"Some combination of Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood, and Jarred Vanderbilt would suffice," Keane wrote, adding that the Lakers could up the ante by "sweetening the deal" with draft capital.
Mathurin is in the final year of his rookie contract, a $30 million deal.
"Should Lakers GM Rob Pelinka have an offer ready?" Keane asked in his trade suggestion column recently.
Mathurin suffered a torn labrum (shoulder) injury this past spring during a season in which he averaged 19.5 points per game along with four rebounds per game while shooting nearly 62 percent from the field.
If the Lakers can somehow find a way to bring Mathurin to Tinseltown, the eldest James will suddenly find himself with more drive-and-kick options than he knows what to do with, and Davis could once again feast in the paint like old times.
