The Los Angeles Lakers were handed a 116-104 defeat in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards contributed 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to help his team pull away down the stretch.
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the series, the Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick has been tasked with figuring out how to slow down the Timberwolves’ offensive attack while hiding superstar guard Luka Dončić in the process.
Edwards relentlessly hunted Dončić on switches, leading to plenty of open driving lanes and kick-out opportunities for the Timberwolves’ three-point snipers Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid.
In an effort to provide the defensively-inept Dončić with more support on the perimeter, Los Angeles’ general manager Rob Pelinka could have a chance to land an elite three-and-D wing from the Oklahoma City Thunder Lu Dort, as recent reports have indicated that the 6-foot-4 forward may end up being a luxury that Oklahoma City cannot afford in the near future.
“One player who could find himself on the outside looking in is wing Lu Dort,” FanSided’s Michael Saenz wrote Saturday morning.
“Even though he’s proven to be an important player to Oklahoma City over the past few years, there’s a very real chance that he could end up being a cap casualty in the future.”
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“No matter how this season ends for Oklahoma City, there’s a chance that the Thunder could end up shopping Dort as soon as this offseason, especially considering he has just two years left on his current contract.”
At just 26 years old, Dort has developed into one of the best pure defenders in the entire NBA and a deadly distance shooting threat who knocked down a career-best 41.2% of his three-point looks this season.
In a hypothetical scenario where Oklahoma City looks to trade the rising star this offseason, it’s plausible that the Lakers could swoop in to complete a deal by offering up a package of Dalton Knecht, Jarred Vanderbilt and first-round draft capital.
Through 71 regular season appearances with the Thunder in 2024-25, Dort averaged 10.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals while boasting an excellent 110 defensive rating per 100 possessions. For his efforts, the supremely skilled stopper finished at No. 4 in Defensive Player of the Year voting, receiving 11 first-place votes.
If united with the Lakers’ pair of generational talents in Dončić and LeBron James, the sky could be the limit for the storied franchise in 2025-26 and beyond.
As a player perfectly capable of guarding every position on the floor and knocking down long-range shots at a blistering clip, he’d likely prove to be a wonderful addition to a competitive, star-studded team looking to raise the Larry O’Brien trophy once again.
While it’s fun to fantasize about a potential Dort deal, it remains unlikely that Oklahoma City would agree to a transaction of any kind to part ways with the defensive force after the team finished with a 67-15 record to capture the West’s No. 1 seed this season.
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