The Los Angeles Lakers, as always, are expected to be major players ahead of the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline. After striking a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith, the Lakers are only 2-3, barely staying afloat in a packed Western Conference.
As the deadline looms, the Lakers have plenty of moves they can make and have been linked to solid role players and established All-Stars alike.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis both signed to sizable contracts, the Lakers will have a tough time balancing salary, especially after trading away D’Angelo Russell. However, at least one NBA insider is expecting them to cut ties with Max Christie, a promising wing on a team-friendly deal through 2027-28.
“His shooting is pretty reliable, so he can still very much develop into a valuable rotation guy,” outlined The Athletic’s Zach Harper on Monday.
“He’s still not even 22 and has a good salary number to throw into a bigger deal. If the Lakers decide to make another roster swing outside of the Finney-Smith acquisition, I’d expect Christie and his friendly deal (three more years at $24.8 million total) to be included.”
Averaging an efficient 8.1 points while playing solid defense, Christie is buried on the Lakers’ depth chart in favor of James, Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht. He is the odd man out but has plenty of potential and is under team control, making him one of the Lakers’ most attractive trade chips, excluding their first-round draft picks.
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