Lakers Trade Rumors: Team wants to keep Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht

After a couple of seasons with lots of rumors but no trades, the Lakers finally made a deal happen, acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton while shipping out D’Angelo Russell and picks to the Brooklyn Nets.

The move surprised many people around the NBA as Los Angeles finally got some much-needed 3-and-D players.

With two rotation players added to the roster, the Lakers are currently outside of the play-in spot and closer to a top-four position in the West.

For the first time in a while, Los Angeles has a chance to be aggressive in the trade market and make another deal to place them back into title contenders.

Their best salary asset in Russell may be gone, but they still have other rotation players they can move and two first-round draft picks they can trade in a deal.

Before you start putting players in the NBA Trade Machine, keep in mind that according to Eric Pincus’ most recent article on the Bleacher Report, Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht are two players that the Lakers don’t want to trade.

“Competing executives have also told B/R that the Lakers (at least to date) have shown no interest in discussing trades that include Rui Hachimura or Dalton Knecht (or, obviously, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Bronny James, etc.).”

Unsurprisingly, the Lakers aren’t interested in moving on from Hachimura. He is scoring 12.1 points, grabbing 5.3 rebounds and shooting 43% from 3-point range. Lakers head coach JJ Redick speaks fondly about Hachimura at every opportunity, he’s started in every game he’s played this season and the franchise views him as a long-term piece.

Hachimura makes $17 million, which is the third-highest salary on the roster behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He’s a quality wing and that’s a highly desired position in the NBA, so naturally, teams will ask about him.

Based on Pincus’ article, his performance on this team has made him a player they are unlikely to trade away based on what they can get back for him.

Knecht is another player mentioned in this story. He’s had some amazing rookie moments, like his 37-point performance against the Jazz on Nov. 20.

He’s also had some tough nights, but Knecht is a rookie with tremendous upside overall. Given that the team drafted him with the No. 17 pick in the NBA Draft, it’s no surprise they aren’t willing to part ways with a good player on a rookie contract.

Deals are so hard to make in the NBA. You need two teams willing to make a trade and both giving something of value in exchange for what they want. Vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka got the job done by bringing DFS to Los Angeles, but the job is not finished.

With Christian Wood missing all games so far, the Lakers desperately need a big man. Trading for a center would give them more depth, but if they don’t want to go that route, more perimeter players, especially those with on-ball capabilities, are needed.

However, everyone knows the Lakers’ weakness, so they’ll need to give up something of quality to make a deal happen.

The NBA Trade deadline is Feb. 6, so L.A. still has time to make another move. In the meantime, the Lakers will evaluate the roster and remain “open” to trades.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.