When it comes to league-altering trades, no franchise has more of a history with pulling them off than the Lakers. That was never more apparent than earlier this year when, out of nowhere, LA pulled off a stunning trade for Luka Dončić.
As stunning as it was, it’s one of a number of times throughout the decades in which the Lakers have landed one of the top stars in the sport. This summer, CBS Sports put together their top 25 trades over the last 25 years and, predictably, the Lakers featured prominently
on it.
Inspired by that, I decided to take a deeper look into the top trades and Lakers history and rank the five best, something that quickly proved to be a daunting challenge. The list of players the purple and gold have traded for is a who’s who of inner circle Hall of Famers in the sport’s history.
The phrase “greatest trade” is subjective and largely based on how the reader interprets it. Is it the trade that was the biggest steal? Is it the trade that brought the most titles? Is it the trade that changed the franchise’s path?
Any of those answers is acceptable, but no matter how you slice it, so incredible deals are going to be left out of the top five. So, let’s see which ones missed and made the cut on my list.
Honorable Mentions
Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff to the 76ers for Wilt Chamberlain — One of the very first blockbuster trades the franchise pulled off. This immediately shows how competitive this list is.
Don Ford and a first round pick to the Cavaliers for Butch Lee and a 1981 first round pick (James Worthy) and Jazz receive rights to sign Gail Goodrich in exchange for 1979 first round pick (Magic Johnson) — I had to draw a line in the sand somewhere and, to me, it came at draft trades that involved a fair amount of good fortune. These are objectively great trades, yes. But they also involved a lot of luck, too. It’s a tough line to draw, but it’s where mine is at.
5. Anthony Davis, Max Christie, 2029 first round pick to the Mavs for Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris
Another sign of just how many trades of this nature the Lakers have made is that this comes in at No. 5.
What do you do when you’re staring at an uncertain future with a superstar holding off Father Time as long as he can? You simply trade for one of the best players in the world squarely at the beginning of their prime. And you do it in the middle of the season without a hint of a leak…and in the middle of the night.
It drastically changed the trajectory of the franchise and gave them a new star to build around. The only reason it comes in so low on the list is because every trade above it led directly to a title.
So, you know, low bar, Luka.
4. Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, three first round picks, one pick swap to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis
Ironically, the man the Lakers traded away as the centerpiece in the Luka deal also arrived in LA as part of a blockbuster trade.
This deal very much played out in the public eye, but eventually a deal was reached. AD would immediately help lead the Lakers to a title in his first season and become one of the most dominant defensive big men in the league while establishing himself amongst the great centers in franchise history.
The Pelicans would turn everything they got in return into a single first round playoff exit.
3. Kwame Brown, Jarvaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, draft rights to Marc Gasol and two first round picks to the Grizzlies for Pau Gasol and a second round pick
Speaking of all-time great bigs that immediately helped the Lakers reach the apex, Pau Gasol arrived to LA and looked like he’d spent his whole career playing in the triangle. Joining midseason, Pau fit like a glove and perfectly played Robin to Kobe Bryant’s Batman as the Lakers made three straight Finals and won two titles.
He also became one of the most beloved Lakers during his time in Los Angeles, endearing himself to fans during and after his days donning the purple and gold.
2. Junior Bridgeman, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith, Brian Winters and cash to the Bucks for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Walt Wesley
You want to talk about changing the trajectory of the franchise? How about landing arguably the greatest scorer in league history and one of the cornerstones of four titles in one of the league’s first ever blockbuster deals.
While the Lakers had traded for Wilt before, he was on the wrong side of 30 and his best days were behind him. Kareem? He was a three-time MVP firmly in his prime and, as they would find out, still had over a decade of seasons left in him.
1. Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant
To me, the top two are pretty interchangeable. Considering I was alive for Kobe’s career means I’m going to favor that one. And there’s a good argument for it!
In the modern era, no one is more synonymous with the Lakers than Kobe. He won three titles with the franchise, sets a littany of records and ingrained himself into the fabric and culture of Los Angeles.
And all for the low, low price of Vlade Divac.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
