The trade deadline is almost here, what moves we should expect from the Lakers

This Thursday is the NBA trade deadline and the LA Lakers GM Rob Pelinka has been busy with many calls ahead of potential moves for the team according to information by NBA insider Dave McMenamin.

Austin Reaves has been a named reportedly of interest by many NBA teams but the Lakers front office was quick to make sure he is untouchable, and that could've been to increase his price in case a trade could actually happen, but we don't believe the Lakers guard will be leaving LA anytime soon.

One move that has been long rumored is D'Angelo Russell being traded, but with his latest performances and Jarred Vanderbilt being out for three to four weeks due to an injury, things could've changed. So the Lakers will probably be landing a stopper.

The Lakers have placed "a greater emphasis on adding a defensive wing," per The Athletic's Jovan Buha, and that effort will materialize in a trade. They don't have enough trade chips to bring in Marcus Smart or Alex Caruso, but a next-tier option like Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O'Neale, or Bruce Brown should be doable.

While the Lakers shouldn't trade D'Angelo Russell at the deadline

There's a chance LA comes out of trade season with even less shooting than it has. If the Lakers make a big deadline deal, and it costs them D'Angelo Russell, they'd lose their leader in triples (2.6 per outing) and perimeter splash rate (41.6). Russell may be an imperfect fit with L.A.'s stars, but the club needs to be careful about letting him go for the wrong return.