1 deal the Lakers must make before the 2025-26 trade season

December 15th officially marked the day that players signed to free agent contracts in the offseason could be traded. As the G League Winter Showcase approaches, that’s usually when the NBA trade winds really start to blow. For teams like Los Angeles Lakersthis part of the season serves as a time to really evaluate the roster and decide what the approach will be NBA trade deadline is approaching.

The Lakers are off to a solid 18-7 start to the season. That’s currently good enough for 3rd place in the Western Conference standings. By most accounts, the West, and the NBA in general, is a one-horse race with the Oklahoma City Thunder seemingly in a class of their own.

But the point of the game is to win, and in order to win, teams must build rosters capable of competing against the Thunder. It’s one step at a time though. The Thunder built their team with smart drafting and shrewd roster moves throughout the year. The Lakers will not make a trade at this deadline that immediately puts them in OKC status.

However, they can make a deal that will bring them closer to level. At the Lakers’ practice on Tuesday, head coach JJ Redick laid out a simple game plan alongside the team’s star Luka Doncic. “He defends and shoots threes,” he said.

With that said, here is one player the Lakers should trade for at the NBA deadline this season.

The Lakers should trade for Keon Ellis

The Lakers have been linked to several 3&D players such as Andrew Wiggins and Herb Jones since last season. The only problem with those players is that they will likely command an extremely high asking price, and the Lakers don’t necessarily have the funds to trade for either. That, and in the case of Jones, it’s not even a sure thing the New Orleans Pelicans are willing to entertain.

So if the Lakers want to improve their defense and continue to build a competitive roster that’s feasible in terms of assets and the salary cap, they need to turn their attention to a player that’s a little more attainable. That’s where Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis comes in.

The Kings have stumbled as the 2025-26 season reaches the quarter-finals. They will reportedly be sellers at the NBA trade deadline, with Ellis one of the players likely to be available. After earning a standard contract due to his strong play while on a two-way contract, Ellis’ time and role fluctuated even during the transition from Mike Brown to Doug Christie.

But when Ellis got regular playing time, he was among the better defenders on the Kings’ roster. Of the standard players under contract, Ellis is top five on the list in a 118.4 defensive rating, according to StatMuse.

The other half of the equation the Lakers need is shooting at the rim, and Ellis has been adept at that end since he’s been in the NBA. He is shooting 37 percent from the 3-point line on just three attempts per game this season. Last season, he took a career-high 4.0 attempts from distance and connected on 43.3 percent of them.

Ellis has reportedly already attracted interest from the Lakersamong other teams, according to ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel. He fits the bill for a player who needs a change of scene and a consistent role to show his value to the team. And it probably won’t cost the Lakers much. The right replacement for Dalton Knecht is working. The Lakers get their 3&D guy, and the Kings take a flier on a first-round pick with the potential for an inevitable rebuild.