Insiders are slowing trade talks — for now

As it is Los Angeles Lakers In the early stages of the 2025-26 NBA season, growing talk around the league suggests the team may be gearing up for some aggressive trade activity.

However, according to multiple insiders, the Lakers may be slowing down those talks, at least temporarily, as they finally get a healthy roster and gather the data they’ve been missing.

Despite an impressive 11-4 start, he beat the Utah Jazz 140-126 on Tuesday it felt like a true start to the Lakers’ season. That marked it The long-awaited return of LeBron James from sciatica and the first time Los Angeles had all 14 players available.

With James dishing out 12 assists and Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves rediscover their offensive flowThe Lakers want to see what this version of the team looks like before pulling the trigger on anything bigger.

One of the main reasons the brakes were pumped: the Lakers’ surprising need for shooting. Even with elite offensive creators like James and Doncic, LA ranks just 23rd in three-point percentage and 27th in attempts.

Doncic (31.7%) and Reaves (32.6%) are both shooting below their career averages, and defensive-minded wings like Marcus Smart and Jared Vanderbilt continue to struggle from deep.

LeBron’s return could help immediately; he’s shot 39% from three over the past two seasons, and young shooters Dalton Knecht and Jake LaRavia are expected to improve. But the front office knows that the space remains one of the key issues that determine a team’s ceiling.

Financially, the Lakers could be a major player in the trade market. They have more than $100 million in expiring contracts (James, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber) and could create nearly $50 million in cap space next summer.

But because of tight caps on the first apron, LA can’t recoup more than $1 million in additional salary in a trade, severely limiting their midseason options.

With only one tradeable first-round pick in the next seven years, the margin for error is razor thin. That’s why the Lakers’ approach, for now, is shifting from exploring unusual trades to evaluating whether their newly healthy roster really needs one.

As one team source told ESPN, “There’s just a lot of data right now that we don’t have. The Lakers intend to find that data before they make their next move.”