NBA Trade Rumors: Daniel Gafford Heads to LA Lakers In Proposed Deal
The latest proposal comes to us from ESPN's NBA Insiders, who have speculated on a trade that would send Daniel Gafford from the Dallas Mavericks to the Purple & Gold:
Los Angeles Lakers receive:
- Daniel Gafford
Dallas Mavericks receive:
- Jarred Vanderbilt
- Dalton Knecht
- 2026 First Round pick (#25)
In Gafford, the Lakers would get an athletic rim-runner at one end and a shot blocker at the other end. Basically, that's everything that current center Deandre Ayton is not. Ayton had a disappointing first season in LA, and whether or not he picks up his $8M player option for next year, this is a move that the Lakers should look to make.
Gafford would get to team up with Luka Doncic once again, after their time together in Dallas saw the big man thrive as a pick-and-roll partner for Luka and a rim-running threat, as Zach Kram notes.
He calls this deal "a no-brainer for the Lakers, as they'd address their glaring hole at the center position... with a player who's a proven fit next to Doncic."
It's a reasonably fiscally responsible move as well, with Gafford owed an AAV of $18M over the next three seasons on an extension he signed this past year with Dallas. That's not over-the-top for a starting center in the league, by any measure.
Mavs would get back draft capital and cap space in dealing Gafford to Lakers
For the Mavericks, they're under a new regime now with Masai Ujiri heading up the front office, and as he looks to the future, this would free up some long-term money for him, as Vanderbilt has only two more years remaining on his deal at a more palatable $12M AAV.
In addition, they get to add a solid youngster with yet another first-round selection (they also have two other picks, #9 and #30).
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