In the Jay-Z song “30 Something” the Brooklyn lyricist made entering his 30s sound like a man beginning to reach his prime.
That might be true for Sean Carter, who can continue to rap and build up his business
empire, but in sports, that ideology doesn’t work as well.
The Lakers have the oldest player in the NBA in LeBron James, and while he is still great, teams generally want youth so they can compete with some of the best young rosters that love to run, like the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
With the NBA trade season unofficially underway now that the Dec. 15 date has passed and free agents who signed with different teams in the offseason are now trade-eligible, Stein believes the Lakers are aiming for a youth movement.
In a recent “The Stein Line” newsletter, Stein writes that if the Lakers are going to make a deal, it will likely be for a player under 30. This would be an effort not only to get younger but also to ensure any new additions are around the ages of their stars, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
Generally speaking, though, my read on the Lakers’ preferences is that they would like to target players in the same age range as stars Luka Dončić (26) and Austin Reaves (27) as they continue building out the roster around them as opposed to surrendering prime trade assets for thirtysomethings. It’s an approach they leaned on in the offseason when the Lakers split their midlevel exception on Deandre Ayton (27) and Jake LaRavia (24).
In general, adding younger players who still have upside, speed and athleticism should always be the goal.
This thought process to avoid 30-plus players might seem silly or arbitrary, but it does make sense. Obviously, if some superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo suddenly really wanted to force a trade to LA, his age wouldn’t matter. But there’s far fewer Giannis’ out there and plenty of Brook Lopez’s LA needs to avoid.
In the summer, the Lakers acquired mainly players in their 20s. Jake LaRavia is 24, and Deandre Ayton is 27. Even so, Los Angeles still picked up Smart, who is 31, so it’s not a hard line they aren’t willing to cross. It’s just something fans should keep in mind when playing fantasy general manager.
A player the Lakers have reportedly called about, for example, is Herb Jones. He is 27 years old and an elite 3-and-D wing that satisfies a lot of the Lakers’ needs. His price appears to be too high for the Lakers to reach, but the idea of a player like Jones matches what the Lakers need and likely want.
There are plenty of great players in their 30s, but considering the Lakers want to build around Luka and perhaps even Austin Reaves, they have to ensure the roster they’re building is designed to win for years on end, not just to compete for this season.
So in LA, 30 isn’t the new 20, it’s just 30, and the Lakers aren’t as interested in the boomers with the zoomers now ready to run the show.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
