The Lakers have identified Julius Randle as their top potential trade target, creating an intriguing possibility of a reunion with the former No. 7 pick. But with Randle now on the Nets, the salary and roster complications could make a deal difficult to pull off.
The Los Angeles Lakers could have their eyes on a familiar face if they decide to make a trade during the 2026-27 NBA season.
According to Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, Brooklyn Nets forward Julius Randle is the Lakers' top potential trade target as the franchise looks for additional frontcourt help. Randle is one of five players Pincus identified as potential targets, but the former Lakers forward stands out because of his history with the organization and the fit he could provide alongside Luka Doncic and Walker Kessler.
Randle was originally selected by the Lakers with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and spent the first four seasons of his career in Los Angeles. He eventually developed into a three-time All-Star after leaving the Lakers, establishing himself as one of the NBA's more productive forwards.
Now, more than a decade after Los Angeles drafted him, Randle could theoretically return to where his NBA career began.
The 31-year-old is coming off a season in which he averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. The Nets acquired him from the Minnesota Timberwolves this summer as part of the four-team trade centered around LaMelo Ball, sending Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls in the process.
Pincus believes Randle's physicality would give the Lakers something they currently lack in their frontcourt. His ability to score, create for teammates, and play through contact could provide a different element alongside Kessler.
There is, however, a major problem standing in the way of a potential Lakers-Nets trade.
Randle is set to make $33.3 million this season, and Pincus notes that Los Angeles would need to send out several players to make the salary work. A potential package could involve Jake LaRavia, Jaden Hardy, Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt.
That creates an issue for Brooklyn because the Nets would have to manage a 15-man roster limit during the season. Taking back four players for one player would not be particularly simple, meaning a third team could be necessary to make the trade work.
That makes a Lakers-Nets deal involving Randle considerably more difficult than simply matching salaries on paper.
It also makes another potential Lakers-Nets blockbuster involving Michael Porter Jr. difficult to envision.
Porter is listed as an honorable mention among the Lakers' potential targets, but his $40.8 million salary would create an even more complicated financial puzzle for Los Angeles. Pincus notes that the Lakers could theoretically make the salary math work later in the season, but doing so would require even more players to be included in the deal.
The Nets would also have to decide whether the return is enough to move either of their high-profile forwards. Brooklyn has limited incentive to simply take back salary, particularly considering the lack of premium draft compensation available to the Lakers.
So while Randle makes sense as a player the Lakers could revisit later in the season, there are plenty of hurdles standing between the two sides and an actual trade.
Randle began his NBA career with the Lakers, developed into an All-Star elsewhere, and now finds himself on a Nets team that may have a different timeline than he does. If Brooklyn becomes willing to move him later in the season, Los Angeles could have legitimate interest.
For now, though, the Lakers would have to get creative to bring their former first-round pick back to Los Angeles.
